Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door
by 087-B
Summary: Everyone in Gravity Falls is flung into another dimension. Scattered throughout the new land, Dipper and Pacifica team up with the mysterious Mario to find their friends, obtain seven magical gems shaped like stars, and uncover what secrets lie behind a thousand year old door, which is hopefully a way back home. Contains violence and rare cussing. *CHAPTER 5 ARC* (Over 13.2K Hits!)
1. Prologue - Part 1: Welcome to Rogueport

**UPDATE 1/11/2014: This story is my second most popular by far, with Gravity Falls: Sinnoh Adventure one place higher. This story has over 4,000 hits, which means a lot, but the lack of reviews in recent times (not overall) makes me feel like not a lot of people are checking out this story anymore.  
**

**So I've moved it here. And if you don't like the idea of this story, at least give the firs chapter a chance, then you can leave. Or don't, do what you want.**

**If you have decided to read more, though, good for you!**

**Now, on with the show!**

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**-Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome-**

**-Part 1: Welcome To Rogueport-**

What was a strange day filled with mystery could be considered a normal day in the small town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Dipper and Mabel wandered through the forest, Dipper holding the Journal #3, looking for a mysterious tube that was hidden deep within the forest.

After pushing past a few trees and a few minutes of searching, they had come into a clearing. Inside that clearing, a small green pipe had emerged from the ground, covered in moss and vines.

"Do you think that's it?" Dipper asked Mabel. Mabel looked at the page in the book.

"Looks like the picture, right?" Mabel asked as well. Dipper walked over to the pipe and looked inside. It seemed to go down forever, nothing but endless darkness. He noticed a button on the side. His instinct told him not to press it, but his curiosity pushed his hand forward, slowly pressing the button.

Nothing happened.

"Well, this was a waste." Dipper said. "Come on Mabel, let's go back home." Dipper and Mabel trudged back toward the Mystery Shack, but the pipe began giving off a bright light, before sucking in anything around it. Dipper grabbed onto a tree, while Mabel held on to Dipper. The force of the suction was so strong, it seemed to be pulling the residents of Gravity Falls in as well. So many people flew past the two, falling into the pipe. Dipper's arm grew tired, and without hesitation, let go of the tree, and the two fell into the depths of the pipe along eith the rest of Gravity Falls…

:::::

Dipper slowly opened his eyes, looking around. Rubbing his eyes, he could see the bright sun in the sky, along with a few clouds. Getting up, he noticed he was on a small wooden raft, in the middle of the vast ocean.

"Oh, you're awake." Dipper turned around and saw Pacifica Northwest, the most popular girl in Gravity Falls.

"Pacifica? What happened?" Dipper asked.

"I woke up on this raft. I saw you in the ocean, and I don't like seeing people drown, so I pulled you on board." Pacifica answered. "Now we're just stuck here in the middle of the ocean."

Dipper stood up and stared out into the ocean. On the horizon, Dipper could see… something that looked like a small village.

"Look, over there." Dipper pointed out into the ocean, and Pacifica followed his gaze. "That might be something. Let's paddle." Dipper began using his arms to paddle the makeshift raft toward the town. Pacifica hesitated for a moment, before rolling up her sleeves and paddling as well.

It took quite some time, but the two had arrived at the small port town. It was a very dingy looking area, the air had a crude smell. The two looked around a bit.

"Where are we?" Dipper asked.

"Aye! You two mateys are in the town of Rogueport!" Dipper and Pacifica turned to see who was talking to them, and were shocked to see a bomb, a blue one with two, white eyes and two feet, and a bandana around its forehead.

"Um… are you a bomb?" Dipper asked.

"As sure as the ocean is cruel! Although the actual term is "Bob-omb" for your information, mate." The bomb walked off, and the two noticed a few other bombs walking around, as well as a larger, purple bomb with an eye patch, and even a few people dressed in ragged clothing and hats that looked like mushrooms.

"Seriously Dipper, where are we?" Pacifica asked. Dipper looked at a sign nearby. In old, worn out writing, Dipper read it aloud.

"It says 'Welcome to the port town of Rogueport. Population: 97.'" Dipper looked around the small dock area. "That bomb was right. This town is called Rogueport."

"I don't like that name." Pacifica said. "It has 'Rogue' in it. Obviously this town is bad news."

"Then we should be careful around here." Dipper said. "Let's not talk to everyone. Who knows who could be a thief." Dipper and Pacifica walked toward the center of the dock site, before hearing a screech. Turning, the two of them saw a small mushroom girl with two brown feet and a miner helmet, with a blonde ponytail showing. In front of her were two small men in red and white overcoats, and a taller one in a red and purple overcoat.

"Alright, young missy. We know you've been asking around about those Crystal Stars." The purple one said. "Now hand over dat information!"

"Like I'd ever be affiliated with the likes of you creeps!" The mushroom girl yelled. Dipper noticed a stick nearby and grabbed it. Then, he took a step forward.

"Hey!" Dipper yelled, getting their attention. "Leave her alone!"

"Oh yeah, punk? What are you gonna do to us?" The purple one sarcastically asked. Dipper rushed the purple overcoated man and smacked him in the head with the stick, knocking him backwards. Recovering from his momentary daze, the man in the purple overcoat became enraged.

"So you think you can just pummel Lord Crump and get away with it?" The purple one yelled, calling himself Lord Crump. "Seize them!" The white overcoats grabbed Dipper, the mushroom girl, and Pacifica, pinning them down.

"Ack! Let go of us!" Dipper struggled to get free. Lord Crump chuckled before getting sent flying backward, along with the small overcoats. The three of them looked up to see a man in a red shirt, blue overalls, and white gloves. He had worn out, brown leather boots on, and a distinctive bushy mustache. He was holding a brown wooden hammer, and also sported a red cap with a red 'M' on it.

"I thought you could use help." The man said. He helped the three up. Lord Crump got up from the ground.

"You think you can beat me? How about this?!" Lord Crump pulled out a walkie-talkie and yelled into it. In a few seconds, a lot of the little overcoats appeared, surrounding the four. "PUMMEL THEM!"

The little overcoats jumped everywhere, creating a heaping mass of them. They kept running and jumping, trying to trap the four. The small mushroom girl ran out from the crowd.

"Hurry! This way!" She yelled, and the man, along with Dipper and Pacifica, quickly followed. The man didn't seem too shocked by what happened, but Dipper and Pacifica were utterly petrified. They didn't know where they were or what was happening, but it definitely wasn't good.

The four of them ran up a set of stairs and entered into the main square of the town. As soon as they did so, however, Lord Crump noticed their absence.

"Wait a second, STOP!" He yelled. All of the white overcoats stopped their attack and gathered around Lord Crump.

"Where did they go?" Lord Crump questioned. "You! Johnson! Did you see them? Did ANYONE see them?" All of the little overcoats seemed confused.

"Uh…" Lord Crump looked around. "Crud! They bolted!"

:::::

The four gathered in the town square of Rogueport. This area of town was a bit more busy, containing a shop, an inn, and a back alley, as well as a pub and a few other buildings.

"Oh geez, that was intense!" The mushroom girl said. "I don't think any of us know each other, so lets start with some introductions."

"My name is Dipper. Dipper Pines." Dipper said, a bit out of breath. "What is this place anyway?"

"This is Rogueport of the Mushroom Kingdom. Didn't you know that?" The mushroom girl asked.

"No, I don't even know what a 'Mushroom Kingdom' is! I'm from the state of Oregon on Earth!" Dipper said.

"I hail from Earth as well." The man said. "The name is Mario. I came from Brooklyn in New York."

"Wait, Mario? As in, Super Mario? The famous guy?!" The mushroom girl said. "Omigosh! What are you even doing here?"

"I came here looking for Princess Peach." Mario said. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Goombella! A high honors graduate from the University of Goom!" The mushroom girl said, calling herself Goombella. "Go Goombas!"

"Don't forget me!" Pacifica said annoyed. Mario, Goombella, and Dipper turned to face her. "My name is Pacifica. Pacifica Northwest. The most popular girl in Gravity Falls. The pleasure is all mine."

"She's a little full of herself." Mario whispered to Dipper, who nodded in reply.

"So wait a second, why are you looking for Princess Peach, Mario?" Goombella asked.

"Who's Princess Peach?" Dipper and Pacifica asked in unison.

"She rules over the Mushroom Kingdom." Mario replied. "She sent me a letter saying she found a treasure map, and that she wants me to come and aid her in finding the treasure. Why are you here, Goombella?"

"Me? I'm here for the intrigue and mystery, but I already HATE it here!" Goombella replied. "I mean, every time you turn a corner, you get mugged! It's just terrible around here, especially with the mafia going around." Goombella shuddered. "So what about you kids? Why are you here?"

"Well, you see… we just woke up on a raft in the middle of the ocean and saw this town in the distance." Dipper said. "We thought about paddling here for help, and… that's about it. We don't know what this place is, but we… we…" Dipper was lost in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Mario asked.

"…before we showed up in the ocean, me and my sister, Mabel, found this big, green pipe. We pushed a button on it, and it sucked everyone from my town into it." Dipper said. "My sister could be somewhere in this world. She could be in danger!" The others were silent for a while.

"Hmm… It's unlikely that we may run into them, but we will keep an eye out." Mario said.

"So Mario, what's this about a treasure map?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to know about that too." Pacifica said. Mario pulled out a worn out map.

"Oh wow! This looks like the fabled Magical Map from the legends!" Goombella exclaimed. "We should get my professor to look at this! He lives right here in this town! Let's go!" Goombella walked off with Mario following. He turned to face the two children.

"Are you two coming?" Mario asked. Dipper and Pacifica nodded and followed. They were stuck in a new world now, with no knowing of what was to come. All they knew was that their friends and family were out there somewhere, and this 'Mario' person has a connection to Earth. For now, all they could do was follow Mario and Goombella, and hope to seek out the answers to their questions.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

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**The start of my new crossover, this time with one of my most favorite games of all time, and my favorite Mario game of all time, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, as more will come as time continues! Sorry for the transition from Gravity Falls to Roguport being very fast, but I was really eager to get to the main plot. If I missed anything, just let me know. But, as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	2. Prologue - Part 2: The Millennium Door

**Hey guys, 087-B here, bringing you a new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door! In the last chapter, Dipper and Pacifica woke up in the ocean off the coast of the port town of Rogueport. Upon arrival, the two met a man named Mario and a goomba named Goombella. Now the four are searching for Goombella's university professor in hopes of deciphering Mario's mysterious map.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome - Part 2 - The Millennium Door_

The four had wandered through the central area of Rogueport. It had a northern back alley, a southern exit to the docks, a western exit to another part of town, and an eastern exit to another part of town. Heading into the eastern area a man in a blue overcoat and a mask dashed by Mario.

"Oops, pardon me, sucker!" The man said, zooming past Mario at incredible speeds.

"Hey punk! What's your problem?! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Goombella yelled. But she noticed something different about Mario.

"Mario, look! Half your coins are gone!" Goombella said. Mario was confused, but upon checking his pockets, he noticed Goombella was right. Half of his coins were all that remained in his pockets.

"You gotta get out of that daze, Mario! That guy just stole your money!" Goombella ran off toward the man, shouting and cursing at him. Mario turned to Dipper and Pacifica.

"You two won't mind being alone?" He asked. Dipper and Pacifica looked around the area. It was old, dank, and it had the same crude smell that lingered in the air.

"Um… Yeah, I think we'll be alright." Dipper said. Mario simply nodded and ran off toward Goombella. With nothing to do, Pacifica leaned against a wall, only to fall backwards. Dipper looked at the wall and noticed a part of it was pushed back. Intrigued, he walked behind the wall into the secret passage.

"Hey! Help me up!" Pacifica yelled to Dipper, who simply ignored her. Hesitant, Pacifica pulled herself up off the ground, quickly wiping her hands on her jeans and running back over to Dipper.

Inside the passage was a table and a few chairs, as well as a few inhabitants of Rogueport, such as a man in a blue overcoat like the one from before, and a man with green skin, yellow eyes, and leather clothing that shrouded his forehead.

Immediately, Pacifica walked around a corner in the passage and returned holding a golden rhombus that sparkled in the sunlight.

"What _is_ that?" Dipper asked.

"A piece of a star, or a Star Piece for short." Pacifica answered. "It's hit jewelry in some countries back on Earth. I guess Star Pieces exist here too." She put it in her pocket and looked around. "Can we leave now? This dirty town is too unfitting for me."

Dipper was about to answer before something hit him in the top of the head. Dazed, Dipper stumbled around before slumping over on to a wall. After a moment, Dipper regained his senses and got back up once more. Pacifica was holding a wooden staff with a green orb on the end. She turned to see Dipper upright.

"It fell off the roof and landed on your head." Pacifica said. She tossed it to Dipper. "Considering we got attacked earlier today, I think that it would make a suitable weapon for you."

"Don't _you_ need a weapon?" Dipper asked.

"Who said I would be fighting?" Pacifica scoffed. "Honestly, fighting is for boys, I don't need to get involved." Dipper just stared.

"…you do realize that we're in an alternate universe, right?" Dipper asked. Pacifica nodded. "It could be very dangerous here. You need to be able to protect yourself one way or another, whether you like it or not." Dipper heard Mario calling for them. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

The two of them exited the passage to see Mario and Goombella waiting for them. Mario noticed the staff in Dipper's hands. Dipper followed Mario's gaze and answered the question in his mind.

"It fell off a roof and landed on my head." Dipper said. "It could make a good weapon, I guess." Mario nodded in agreement, seeing as this town could be very dangerous.

"What are we waiting for?" Goombella said, getting impatient. "The professors house is right over here! Come on!" Goombella led the others to a small house with a red, wooden door.

"You sure this is his house?" Mario asked. Goombella nodded. Dipper reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

:::::

Wendy awoke, rubbing her head. She was completely unaware of where she was, but she was lying a piece of wood. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. She was on a bridge over a moat, and on both sides of her was a castle of sorts.

"Where the heck am I?" She asked herself, getting up. Quickly, her thoughts were interrupted as she heard roaring over head. Looking up, she saw a large, red dragon with a hook like tail flying over the castle. Frightened, Wendy noticed a piece of land that lead to underneath the bridge. She ran over and ducked under the bridge, and successfully hid from the dragon.

When everything went quiet again, she was about to go back up, but she noticed a strange object underneath the other end of the bridge. It was a yellow triangle with a heart in the middle, and the only way to get to it was by jumping across some small pieces of land that stuck out from the water. Curios, Wendy decided to go after it.

She jumped from each piece of land to the next, only falling in the water once. Upon getting to the other side, she picked up the strange object. A note was attached. She read it aloud.

"HP Plus Badge. Requires 3 BP to wear. Raises your max HP by 5 when worn." Wendy seemed confused, but she decided to pin it on to her shirt anyway. Immediately, she felt a bit more livelier, but she knew that this was probably unimportant, and she needed to get out of wherever she was.

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Dipper, Pacifica, Mario, Goombella, and another goomba with some white hair and glasses, the professor, walked out of the building. Dipper turned to the professor.

"Now, if the legend is true, Professor Frankly, then that means a thousand year old door rests beneath Rogueport?" Dipper asked. Frankly nodded.

"I'm still having a hard time processing all of this." Pacifica said, rubbing her head. "This legend seems a bit… out there."

"I agree." Dipper said. "But it does make a little sense." He took out a book and read aloud from it. "The one with the Magical Map of lore, should hold it in front of the Thousand Year Door. Destiny shines with all its might, to show the Crystal Stars of light." He put the book away.

"So, the basic goal here is what?" Pacifica asked.

"The basic goal is to find this thousand year door, and have Mario hold the Magical Map in front of it." Dipper answered. "I guess it will lead us to the Crystal Stars, which will help us find the treasure and, hopefully, the location of Princess Peach."

"How do you remember all this stuff?" Mario asked.

"The town I live in is a strange one." Dipper answered. "You pick up a few things, such as an expansive memory and a great way of understanding things."

"Well, we shouldn't waste anymore time!" Frankly said. He walked over to a fence and pulled a piece off of it, causing a part of the fence to come loose and break off, revealing an opening that led to a green pipe. "Let's go! Into the sewers!"

"I guess that makes sense." Goombella said. "The sewers are underground, so it would make sense for the thousand year door to be underground."

Dipper, Mario, and Goombella walked over to Frankly and the pipe, but Pacifica stayed behind.

"Pacifica, aren't you coming?" Mario asked. Pacifica shook her head.

"I'm not going in the filthy, yucky, rotten, super gross sewers!" Pacifica said. Dipper sighed and grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the pipe, pushing her inside. She went straight down into the sewers screaming. The gang chuckled a bit before Dipper jumped inside, followed by Mario, Goombella, and finally Frankly.

:::::

The five emerged from a pipe inside of the sewers. Pacifica's screaming died down, and now she simply remained quiet, not moving an inch from where she stood.

"The sewers…" Pacifica's eye twitched. Dipper sighed.

"She'll be like that for a while." Dipper looked around. The area they were in had two ways to go. On his left, there was a doorway to another area. On his right, there were some stairs leading downward, followed by stairs leading upward, a floating platform, and some other areas. Dipper raised his staff, and Mario raised his hammer.

"It could be dangerous down here." Mario said. "Stay close, and be ready." The five walked down the stairs before hearing some yelling.

"Whoa nelly! What's a fine looking goomba like you doing with some fat Italian plumber and two idiot children like them?" The group looked up at the top of the stairs in front of them to see a normal goomba, a goomba with a spiked cap, and a goomba flying in the air with wings.

"Wait, are you talking to me?" Goombella sarcastically asked. "I'm so flattered that you like me! It's like- so totally gross!" The other goombas looked angry.

"Hey! Nobody disses us like that!" the goomba yelled. "Come on boys, let's get them!"

The three goombas jumped down from the stairs, and the others prepared to fight. Frankly stayed out of the fight, taking a step back, followed by Pacifica, leaving Mario, Dipper, and Goombella to fend for themselves.

The normal goomba leaped into the air and bashed its head on Dipper, who fell backwards. Getting back up, Dipper raised his staff and smashed it downward on the normal goomba, sending it flying. Mario took a swing at the flying goomba, but he couldn't quite hit it.

"Mario! Dipper!" Frankly called. "The paragoomba is an airborne enemy! It can't be hit with a melee weapon! Rely on jumping or using an item!" Mario nodded and jumped upwards, land a blow on the paragoomba's head, knocking it down to the ground.

Goombella pulled out a little green book and flipped through some pages, glancing at the spiked cap goomba.

"Ah ha! That's a spiky goomba!" Goombella said. "You can't jump on it, obviously. Max HP is 2, Attack is 2, Defense is 1. That spike raises its attack power, so be wary of it, and take it out as fast as you can!"

Dipper swung his staff at the spiky goomba, landing a blow on its side, knocking it into a wall. The normal goomba bashed into Dipper from behind, knocking him over. The spiky goomba got up and was about to get his revenge on Dipper. He ran by Pacifica to get to him, and in the process, kicked up dust on to Pacifica's clothes. Her eyes widened, and she quickly flew into a rage.

"You got dust on my clothes!" Pacifica rapidly punched at the spiky goomba, knocking it into the grounded paragoomba, knocking them both unconscious. Frightened, the normal goomba tried to run, only to be smacked in the head by a headbonk from Goombella, sending it flying into the other goombas.

"Okay, okay! We'll leave you alone!" The normal goomba yelled as the other goombas regained consciousness. "Come on boys! Let's scram!" The normal goomba ran off deep into the sewers, followed by the paragoomba and the spiky goomba.

Pacifica exited her rage, and simply felt a little more comfortable being in the sewers now.

"Well… that was eventful." Pacifica said.

"Indeed." Frankly agreed. "But we have to press on! Let's go!"

:::::

The five entered through a passage, and the room they were now in was massive, containing a large amount of ancient rubble, as well as another passage on the other side of the room. But what really stood out was the massive red and golden door that took up most of the back wall.

"This is it! The Thousand Year Door is here!" Frankly exclaimed. "The legend really is true!" He, Mario, and Goombella walked off toward the door. Pacifica was about to follow, but Dipper stopped her.

"Here." Dipper handed her a walkie-talkie.

"What's this for?" Pacifica asked.

"If we get separated, we should at least have a ways of communicating with each other." Dipper answered. "It's safer that way."

Pacifica simply nodded, and out the walkie-talkie in her pocket. The two then ran over to rejoin the group.

"What the heck?" Goombella noticed a pedestal in the middle of a big platform. "What's with that pedestal?"

"It's probably where Mario has to hold up the Magical Map." Dipper said. "It just makes sense, right?" The others nodded. Mario took out his Magical Map and stepped on to the platform, then stepped on to the pedestal.

Facing the door, Mario held up the Magical Map, and very quickly, in almost a split second, the room lit up as blue light patterns began forming on the platform. The others were surprised as a bright light fell from the ceiling and landed on the map, bursting into pieces as the map hovered in the air. Then, in an instant, the map returned to Mario's hands, and the lights faded. The others looked at the map. A castle had formed on the map near the top right corner, and a gray star appeared on the image of the castle.

"I think the map just recorded the location of a Crystal Star!" Goombella said.

"We better bring the map back to my house for an analysis." Frankly said. "I might be able to decipher where this is."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Whew! This chapter was LONG! But, I guess that will become a regular thing in this story!**

**So, it appears Dipper and Pacifica have the low-down on the legend and now assist Mario, Goombella, and Professor Frankly in finding it. Also, we got a glimpse at where Wendy is! At first, I wanted it to be Mabel, but I thought about that cliché 'damsel in distress' sort of thing, so I went with Wendy in place of Mabel, but there will be no romance in this fic. I also found an even better place for Mabel to be! Can you guess? Anyway, enough of my rambling. Just remember to…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	3. Prologue - End: Reaching Petal Meadows

**Hey guys, 087-B here again with another chapter. I'll be writing chapters for this story for now, mainly because I enjoy Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door too much to do something other than it… Okay, I'm not THAT obsessed with the game, but I love the game. It's too great for words.**

**In the last chapter, Dipper, Pacifica, Mario, and Goombella met up with Professor Frankly, and they traveled into the sewers to find the Thousand Year Door, and they were met with success! Now Mario's Magical Map contains the location of the first Crystal Star, and the group has to find out where it is. Let's go see what they're up too, shall we?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome - Part 3 - Reaching Petal Meadows_

Back in the above town Rogueport, the five group members where back in Professor Frankly's house, looking over the map, trying to find out where the first Crystal Star was located.

"Look, if you go here…" Dipper pointed at a piece of the Rogueport Sewers on the map, then followed a small trail to a picture of a field on the map. "…then this field kind of leads to the castle- wait, nope. It leads to a town."

"But look, if you go past the town… wait, never mind." Pacifica said, trying to pinpoint the Crystal Star's location.

"You do realize I've already figured out where this is, right?" The others turned to see Professor Frankly.

"Where is it, Professor?" Goombella asked. Professor Frankly pushed the others aside to look at the map. He stared at it for quite some time, while the others looked over his hypothetical shoulder.

"…It's in a field. I don't know where the field is though." The others sighed really loudly.

"Wait a second…" The others became intrigued again.

"The Crystal Star appears to be located in a place called Petal Meadows." Frankly said.

"Petal Meadows? Where's that?" Mario asked.

"If I remember correctly, a pipe in the Rogueport Sewers leads to Petal Meadows." Frankly answered. "I've heard the name 'Petal Meadows' come up in my research from time to time, but I never thought a Crystal Star was hidden here…"

"It can't be hard to find it, then." Dipper said. "We've found our way around the sewers, heck, we found the Thousand Year Door."

"What are you getting at?" Pacifica asked.

"What I'm saying is, if we're able to find the Thousand Year Door, I'm pretty sure we can find the pipe to Petal Meadows." Dipper answered.

"Then we're off!" Goombella said.

"Wait!" Frankly stopped them. "Mario, when you held up the map, I'm pretty sure you gained some strength from the map, correct? Do you think you possess some sort of a… 'Special Move' of sorts?"

"Hmm… now that you mention it…" Mario began. "I guess I do feel a bit more powerful."

"Then that settles it! You three, go along and explore Rogueport." Frankly said to the others. "I'll stay here and teach Mario about his new Special Move."

"Um… okay, Professor." Goombella said. "You seem to know what you're doing."

"Of course I know what I'm doing!" Frankly said. "Now go on!"

Goombella and Pacifica exited the home, but Frankly stopped Dipper.

"Boy, you might need this." He handed Dipper a small pin with a note attached. The pin looked like a little gray hammer with one spike coming out from the top, the left end, and the right end.

"What is this?" Dipper asked.

"It's called a badge." Frankly answered. "Having it pinned on to you might help you in battles. It may be useful later on."

:::::

Dipper exited the building to meet up with Pacifica and Goombella. The two girls were chatting by the entrance to the sewers. It seemed they were bonding. Dipper read the note attached to the badge to himself.

"Power Smash Badge. Requires 1 BP to wear. When worn, allows the user to attack with a powerful smash causing double the normal damage. Wearing 2 or more of these badges increases the power." Dipper seemed intrigued and pinned the badge on to his hat. He assumed it would be useful in a battle later on.

He walked over to the two girls and overheard a bit of their conversation.

"…and so Elizagoom says she'll be the better archeologist, and I'm like, 'Oh no she didn't!'" Goombella said.

"She reminds me of this one girl named…" Pacifica stopped when she noticed Dipper smirking nearby.

"You two girls bonding?" Dipper jokingly asked.

"Yeah, Pacifica is really kind!" Goombella said happily. "She's like me, except human!"

"Well, it's good to see Pacifica getting used to this world faster than I am." Dipper said.

"I'm not entirely used to it." Pacifica said. "Honestly, it still feels really weird here."

"I can understand that." Dipper said. "I've never been away from Mabel this long… I really miss her." Dipper sat down solemnly. Goombella walked over to him.

"Hey, I'm sure we'll find her!" Goombella consoled. "Like you said, if we can find the Thousand Year Door, we can find the pipe to Petal Meadows!" Dipper smiled a little. "She should turn up eventually! Maybe she's in Petal Meadows!"

"…you have a good point, Goombella." Dipper said, getting up. "Well, we have time to kill, so let's split up and explore Rogueport." He turned to Goombella. "Goombella, you seem to know this place well. Take Pacifica around, have some girl time."

"You got it!" Goombella chirped. She and Pacifica headed off into town, while Dipper decided to do some research on this place, preferably research about the Mushroom Kingdom in general.

:::::

Wendy cautiously walked down one of the many halls of the castle. She had encountered many anthropomorphic turtles with sunglasses, and some even had wings. On rare occasions, she would find a walking pile of bones that resembled the turtles from before. However, she never felt like she was losing energy.

She entered another room and leaned against a wall, tired from running away from the monsters just minutes earlier. She looked at the pin she had put on her shirt. It seemed to give off an energy of sorts, as if it were keeping her alive.

"HP means… what does it mean?" Wendy asked herself. "Health Points? Hit Points? Heart Power?" She didn't know where she was or what this pin was or did. All she knew was she was lost.

She got up from the wall and noticed a little green box nearby with a spinning triangle inside. Curios, she kicked it. It lit up and caused a larger, black and green box nearby to light up and begin to rise. Seeing it as a possible way to escape from the castle, she dashed toward it and jumped, grabbing the edge. As the box rose upward, she pulled herself up and over the edge. When the box stopped moving, Wendy met a set of stairs leading upward. Without hesitation, she walked up the stairs and found an incredibly large purple door.

Opening it, she found herself on a large bridge, hanging over the castle grounds and connecting to a large, tall tower on the other side. The sky had darkened with dark clouds, and the sun seemed to have set. Anthropomorphic turtles and winged turtles guarded the bridge, and seeing as there was no other way around it, Wendy ran forward. The monsters tried to stop her, but to no avail. She made it to the other side without a scratch, and met a large spiral staircase. She climbed up it, as it was her only escape from the anthro monsters.

"Almost to the top…" Wendy climbed for what seemed like an eternity before finally reaching the top. A spiked goomba was blocking her path, and bashed its spiked head into her torso. She fell backwards, but quickly picked herself back up. She dodged another attack and kicked the helmet off the spiked goomba. Frightened, the now normal goomba ran off down the stairs. Wendy saw a wooden rod nearby and grabbed it. She then pulled the spike off of the helmet and stuck it to top of the rod. Some string was also on the helmet that held the spike down. She tied the spike to the rod with the string, and she finally had a weapon to defend herself. She also grabbed the now spikeless helmet and placed it on her head.

She heard a loud roar from a room above her. Going up a few more stairs, she found an even larger purple double door, leading to a colosseum like room. She slowly pushed the doors open. On the other side, a large red dragon with a hook like tail.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" The dragon roared.

Wendy readied her spear, prepared for battle.

:::::

It was mid-evening in Rogueport, and Goombella and Pacifica had decided to do some shopping in the West side of Rogueport. Goombella sported a small red tie around her hypothetical neck, and a shiny new helmet. Pacifica sported a nice pair of sunglasses and a fashionable purple shirt with a Life Shroom pattern on it.

"Now that was some wonderful shopping!" Pacifica said happily. "I didn't know Rogueport had such a wonderful boutique! I mean, this town is a dump."

"Tell me about it!" Goombella chirped. "The west side of Rogueport is the cleanest and nicest!"

"This is much better than fighting monsters in the sewers." Pacifica said. Goombella stopped.

"About that…" Goombella began. Pacifica stopped walking to look at her.

"What about it?" Pacifica asked.

"You need to find a weapon, or at least some way to protect yourself during battle, Pacifica." Goombella said.

"I don't need to." Pacifica scoffed. "I just have Mario and Dipper battle for me."

"But what if you get separated?" Goombella asked. "If you end up alone in a battle, what happens next?" Pacifica was about to reply, but stopped to think about it. Goombella was right. She needed to learn how to fight.

"…where do I go to learn how to fight?" Pacifica asked. Goombella smiled.

"Glad to see you're ready to start learning." She said. "Now, we should probably go to the Trouble Center."

"What's the Trouble Center?" Pacifica asked.

"The description of it says that it's a place where people go to help others who have problems they can't solve on their own." Goombella answered.

"Sounds more like a place people go to when they're too lazy to do chores and make other people do them for them." Pacifica said. The two of them chuckled.

"It's located in the eastern area of Rogueport." Goombella said. "Let's go."

The two walked a bit further, exiting the West area of Rogueport back to the central area, before hearing someone yell.

"STOP!" Goombella and Pacifica stopped in their tracks and turned to see an older lady dressed in mushroom like clothing. "Don't move another inch!"

"What's wrong, Zess T.?" Goombella asked.

"Someone dung for brains idiot bumped in to me earlier!" The lady named Zess T. yelled. "He made me lose a contact lens, so I would appreciate it if you didn't move at all!"

"I don't have time for this." Pacifica scoffed. She was about to take step forward when Goombella stopped her.

"What are you doing?!" Goombella asked.

"I'm trying to get to East Rogueport." Pacifica said coldly. "I don't have time to help this old bat!"

"Who are you calling old bat?!" Zess T. shouted.

"She didn't mean it!" Goombella shouted back. "She's not thinking before she speaks!"

"Oh, I'm thinking before I speak, alright." Pacifica said.

"Pacifica, you need to be nice to people in this town." Goombella reminded her. "One wrong slip up, and you're going to get beat up, most likely robbed or killed." Pacifica ignored her friend. "This town is incredibly dangerous! You were so nice earlier, can't you see that you're not the most important person in the world?!"

"I **am** the most important person in the world!" Pacifica yelled. She stormed off, crushing the contact lens in the process.

"No! My contact lens!" Zess T. cried. Pacifica stormed off to the inn, probably back to the groups rented room.

"I'll pay for it! Don't worry!" Goombella reassured Zess T. about her promise.

Pacifica shoved the door to their room open and just fell flat on the bed. Goombella was right about all those things she said. Pacifica thought about herself. She wasn't popular in this world. She wasn't important in this world. She needed to do things for herself and others, instead of making others do things for her. Tears trickled down her face as she realized what a horrible person she had been.

:::::

The next morning, the group met outside the sewers. Mario had returned to the group with the new ability he called Sweet Treat. He explained the move summoned a cloud of miniature Crystal Stars that dropped pictures of the group members. Mario could throw little holographic stars from the magical map at the icons, and depending on which ones he hit, he would heal certain members of the party. The others were intrigued by the new ability. Now that they were prepared, the four headed down into the sewers to search for the pipe to Petal Meadows. Mario and Dipper walked ahead, while Pacifica and Goombella fell behind.

"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday." Pacifica said to Goombella.

"It's fine." Goombella replied. "You seem to be under a lot of stress, Pacifica."

"I am under a lot of stress, Goombella." Pacifica said. "I'm still not used to this world. It's just too… different from my own."

"That explains a lot." Goombella said.

"I say things and do things without thinking because I feel like it's the only thing to do in this world." Pacifica looked down at the ground solemnly.

"Just stick to us, okay?" Goombella reassured her. "I'll help you get used to this place." Pacifica smiled a bit. "Let's focus on finding Petal Meadows for now, okay?"

"Right." Pacifica agreed, and the two caught up with the group.

They had come to a gap in the path. Mario had used his incredible jump to reach the other side. He held out his hand, and Dipper jumped over grabbing Mario's wrist. He pulled himself up, and the girls quickly followed in getting over. A single door rested near them. When they entered, they saw a small little wooden dock, as well as an underground ocean of sorts. Across the water was a small stone platform with an old, rocky looking pipe in the center of it. Poking out of the water was a slimy, soggy tentacle.

"That pipe over there might be it." Dipper said, pointing to the pipe. He rubbed his chin. "But how do we get to it?" The others were distracted by the tentacle. Curious, Mario decided to smack it with his hammer. The tentacle vibrated a bit before shooting back into the water. Everything was silent for a moment, but the water began to bubble.

In a split second, a giant, white squid burst out of the water. Goombella and Pacifica shrieked, and Mario was surprised for a second but readied his hammer. Dipper was distracted by his thoughts, but upon hearing the shrieks, turned to see the large squid. He reached for his staff and remembered the badge Professor Frankly gave him.

Goombella looked through her tattle log and identified the squid as a Blooper, then proceeded to headbonk the oncoming tentacles, combo-ing upward enough to land a blow on the Blooper's forehead, dealing some damage to it. Mario swung his hammer rapidly, dodging and smacking the endless waves of the Blooper's tentacles, but he wasn't able to deal any real damage. Pacifica was off to the side tossing large stones at it, but nothing was happening. Then she remembered the Star Piece she found. She pulled it out.

Dipper focused his energy on the power the badge contained, trying to use the Power Smash attack. His staff slowly began to glow as it formed into a hammer similar to the design of the badge. It stopped glowing and began shining colors of red, green, blue, yellow, and white, as if it were charging power. With enough power stored inside the badge, he was ready, but before he could attack, Pacifica jumped upward holding a golden scepter. She smashed the scepter down on the Blooper's forehead, sending it in to a daze.

"All right Pacifica!" Goombella cheered.

With the Blooper distracted, Dipper jumped in to the air.

"**Power Smash!**" Dipper slammed the hammer downward straight between the Blooper's eyeballs, sending it soaring in to the air. It smashed in to the ceiling and exploded in to dust. Dipper fell back to the ground, panting, as his staff returned to normal.

"That was the power of the badge!" Mario said.

"That fight was eventful." Pacifica said. "I learned how to fight, and Dipper accessed the power inside his badge." Goombella smiled a Pacifica, who smiled back.

The room rumbled before two floating platforms emerged from the water, leading to the pipe on the other platform.

"Well, talk about convenient." Goombella said.

"Let's go." Dipper said, and the four jumped across the platforms to the other side. They gathered around the pipe and smiled at each other, before jumping inside.

Their adventure had just begun.

**-(End Of Prologue)-**

**Long chapter, I know, but we finished off the prologue! Pacifica used her Star Piece to make a scepter, so that is her weapon! Dipper will be the main badge user, so that is how I will incorporate badges in to this story! Next chapter will begin Chapter 1! But It'll take time to write, so until then…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	4. Chapter 1 - Part 1: Arrival In Petalburg

**Hello my friends and fellow writers, 087-B here with the beginning of Chapter 1! In the last chapter, the gang found out where the first Crystal Star was and fought a giant Blooper. Finding a pipe after defeating it, the group jumped in… and that was where we left off! Now, let's find out where they went!**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 1: Castle And Dragon - Part 1 - Arrival in Petalburg_

The four heroes burst out of the stone pipe and landed flat on the ground in a large, beautiful flowery field. Getting up and wiping the dirt off of them, they felt very calm and relaxed while they were in such a lush, nature filled area, the direct opposite of Rogueport.

"Well, this is it!" Goombella began. "The Petal Meadows, where folks say a Crystal Star hides!" Mario pulled out the magical map.

"The map says there is a town located near here." Mario said.

"Then that's just where we'll go!" Pacifica said. "Maybe they have information on the location of the Crystal Star!"

"How many Crystal Stars are there anyway?" Dipper asked.

"The legend says that seven Crystal Stars exist." Goombella answered. "The only known one is the Diamond Star, which is the one that appeared on the map. The names or locations of the other six Crystal Stars are unknown."

The group proceeded down a small grassy slope and walked to the center of the field where small stone structures were set up, like a Mushroom Kingdom version of Stonehenge. They were about to press on before hearing a loud roaring overhead. Looking up, the group saw a large red dragon with a hook like tail. It flew over the group before returning to a castle on a far off hill, flying into the top tower.

"Guys! Did you see that?!" Goombella exclaimed.

"Was that a dragon?!" Dipper exclaimed.

"We've only been here for five minutes and already there's mystery and intrigue!" Goombella said. "Come on, let's get moving!"

The group continued forward a little before spotting a golden block with a '?' on it hovering in the air. While Dipper and Pacifica where mystified by it at first, Mario walked under it and jump, smacking the box. The '?' disappeared and a red mushroom with eyes flew out of the top. Mario walked over and picked it up.

"Oh, sweet! A red Mushroom!" Goombella said. "That'll be useful later on!"

"Uh…" Dipper and Pacifica were confused.

"Oh, right. You don't hail from this world." Mario remembered. "Here in the Mushroom Kingdom, blocks like these appear almost everywhere, and hitting them from the underside sometimes causes something to fly out from the top of it!" Mario held up the mushroom. "In this case, a Mushroom! A good recovery item that should replenish your strength during a battle!" The two Oregon children seemed to understand the concept of Mushrooms and ? Blocks.

Continuing forward, the group came across a red ? Block. Mario was about to jump at it, but instead Dipper jumped and hit its underside and a badge popped out from the top. It looked like a red-orange octagon with a big yellow swirl in the middle. Dipper went and picked it up. A note was attached, and he read it aloud.

"Close Call Badge. Requires 1 BP to wear. When the bearer of the badge has taken a sufficient amount of damage in battle to enter the 'Danger' status, enemies will miss ½ of the time they attack." Dipper thought about how useful this badge could be. He tossed it to Mario, who pinned it to his overalls.

"Those red blocks are called Badge Blocks." Goombella said. "Badge Blocks are much more rare than the normal ? Blocks, so keep an eye out for them."

"Badges seem to help out in battle." Dipper pointed out. "I used Power Smash to deal massive damage to the Blooper, and Mario might be more evasive with the Close Call badge."

"I guess if we keep badges organized, we can get a lot of benefit from them." Mario said. "I'm the one who usually jumps, so jumping related badges should work just right for me."

"I wonder what badges would work for me." Pacifica wondered. "Let's get a move on. I feel like some sort of creature might pop out soon."

"Yeah, let's." Dipper walked on ahead, followed by the rest of the group. They battled through a few Goombas, Paragoombas, and Spiky Goombas, but it was a relatively easy battle for our heroes. They came to a small clearing with a river flowing between the land, preventing further movement.

"How do we get past here?" Pacifica asked. "I mean, this can't be that hard, right?"

"Look, in the distance!" Mario pointed to a hill far out in the distance that had a blue box with a '!' on it resting on the ground. "That might be the switch for the bridge!"

"How do we get over there, though?" Dipper looked around, not seeming to turn up any answers, but after pushing a few dark green bushes aside, he found a pipe that connected to a pipe on the far hill. "Never mind, I think I found our solution!" The rest of the group gathered around the pipe.

"It will be easy to get to the switch." Mario said. "I'll go." He jumped in the pipe and emerged through the pipe on the far hill. He walked over to the switch and jumped on it, causing a bridge to appear over the river in the style of a flipbook. Mario gave the thumbs up to the others, who did so in return. Then he jumped back through the pipe, and the group continued on.

Upon crossing the bridge, the group found a wooden arch fence with a sign in the top-center area. The four of them walked up to it.

"Welcome to the small town of Petalburg. Population: 71." Dipper read the sign aloud. Looking through the gate, the gang saw a wondrously beautiful little town, filled with anthropomorphic turtles with green shells and boats and no sunglasses or spiked collars, called Koopas, as well as the mushroom clothed people, who the gang know as Toads. The buildings were small and yellow with orange bricked roofs, and little rivers ran throughout the town with small bridges connecting to other pieces of land that were divided by the flowing water. Walking into the town, a Koopa immediately greeted the group.

"Hello there!" The Koopa greeted. "Welcome to the town of Petalburg! We don't really have many tourists around here since the Hooktail incident, so we're kind of remote, to tell you the truth."

"Yeah yeah, we get it, Green Boots." Goombella said. Pacifica chuckled. "So what's this about a Hooktail incident?" The Koopa seemed shocked.

"You don't know about Hooktail?" The gang shook their heads. "Hooktail is a big red dragon with a hook shaped tail. It constantly goes around feasting on innocent people for its own enjoyment." The Koopa shuddered. "You four are lucky that you made it here without being eaten."

"We saw Hooktail earlier." Pacifica said. "At least, I think we did. We saw a giant red dragon fly into a castle in the distance back near the pipe that lead to Petal Meadows."

"Wow, you four are some of the only people who have lived after seeing Hooktail." The Koopa seemed impressed.

"Anyway, do you know anything about these gems called the Crystal Stars?" Goombella asked.

"Crystal Stars?" The Koopa thought for a moment. "Nope, can't say I have." The others seemed disappointed. "But you can ask the mayor. He's old… really old. Old enough to know more than us Koopas normally know."

"Where can we find him?" Mario asked.

"He lives in a small pink house up ahead." The Koopa answered. "You can't miss it."

"A pink house? Sounds totally hideous…" Goombella shuddered at the thought. "But thanks, you've been a big help!"

After the conversation, the gang saw the inn was right next to the entrance and decided to rent a room. They rested up in the inn for a bit, and when they felt they had regained enough strength, they set out once more.

:::::

Robbie burst through the dead trees panting heavily, his clothes torn up and his face bruised. He was so lost and confused, completely unknowing of where to go. Just hours earlier, he woke up at the top of an old abandoned steeple. Freaked out, he saw a town in the distance that was overlooked by the steeple. He escaped and ran toward it, although he didn't know if he would get far.

He jumped over a fallen log, but tripped over an unearthed tree root and fell to the ground. He felt like something was chasing him, even though nothing was behind him. Robbie quickly got up and bolted forward once more. Monsters like spike-headed rocks and ball shaped ghosts were attacking him when they could, but he saw the town coming up on the horizon. He sighed in relief but continued to run forward. He was nearing the town when something tripped him, even though no obstacles were in the way. With his face full of sand, gravel, and dirt, Robby heard a strange voice talk to him.

"Where do ya think you're going, Slick?"

:::::

Mario opened the door to the pink house and the group entered it, closing the door behind them. Inside was an elder Koopa with big, bushy light-gray eyebrows that covered his eyes, a long white beard, and he held a cane to support himself. Although it didn't seem like he could see well, he could obviously tell that people had just entered his home.

"Wait a second, are you robbers?!" The elder Koopa spoke. "Please, I don't have anything! Well, maybe I have little money, but please don't take the pictures of me and the misses!" He was trembling with fright.

"Um, Mr. Mayor, we aren't robbers." Dipper said. "We just have a few questions for you." The mayor calmed down a bit.

"Oh, so you aren't robbers?" The group shook their heads. "That's good. My name's Mayor Kroop, and I'm obviously the mayor of Petalburg." His smile returned. "So, you have a few questions for me?"

"Yes sir, Mayor Kroop." Goombella said. "We wanted to know if you know anything about gems called the Crystal Stars?"

"Crystal Stars, eh?" Kroop thought for a moment. "Yeah, that sounds a bit like the treasure Hooktail gobbled up."

"So you know about the Crystal Stars?" Pacifica asked.

"Yes indeed." Kroop answered. "The only way to get it is to beat Hooktail, and the only way to get into Hooktail's Castle is to find two Stone Keys."

"Stone Keys?" Dipper was confused. "Where do we find those?"

"The two Stone Keys that you'll need are hidden away in the deep caverns of the Shhwonk Fortress." Kroop answered. "The Shhwonk Fortress can be found East of Petalburg. It's heavily guarded, however. Trials exist along the way. Brutal battles, fearsome fights, daunting duals!"

"Thanks for the information, Mayor Kroop." Dipper said. As much as he kept his cool, he felt very awkward talking to an anthropomorphic elderly turtle, considering the circumstances.

"So I'm guessing that you want these Stone Keys because you're off to slay Hooktail?" Kroop asked eagerly.

"Um, I guess you could say that." Goombella said.

"Oh joyous day! Tell me, heroes, what are your names?" Kroop looked at Mario.

"The name is Mario!" Mario said happily, followed by a "Wa-Hoo!"

"Eh? Murphy is the name?" Kroop was very wise, but he had terrible hearing.

"Um, no. It's "Mario", not Murphy." Mario tried to correct Mayor Kroop.

"I agree, Murphy! You do have nice eyebrows!" Kroop turned to Dipper. "Now what's your name, sonny?"

"Um… My name's Dipper." Dipper said, even though he knew Mayor Kroop would probably mess it up.

"That's a nice name, Dixon!" Kroop said. Dipper sighed, but chuckled.

"Yeah, it's Dixon." Dipper said.

"Now, valiant heroes, tell the gatekeeper you have my permission to leave town!" Kroop said. "He'll open the gate and let you be on your way to Shhwonk Fortress!"

"Thank you, Mayor Kroop!" Pacifica said. The four of them left the house, seeing the gatekeeper not too far away from where they stood. They had made some significant progress on their adventure, even though many questions still remained unanswered. As they approached the gatekeeper, they felt like they were ready to take on the Shhwonk Fortress, even though they didn't know how difficult the actual dungeon would be. Mario explained to the gatekeeper about what they needed to do, and as the gatekeeper opened the gate, the group heard a voice behind them.

"Um, h-hello?" The group tuned to see a Koopa with a blue hoodie, some navy blue shorts, a single droopy eyelid, a bandage on his nose, and some worn-out white boots. "Um, y-yeah… My n-name's Koops, and… I heard you were g-going to Hooktail Castle, so… I was h-hoping to ask…" Koops was silent for a bit, very shy and hesitant about speaking to the group. "Oh, just forget it, okay?! Forget about me! I'm not important!" Koops ran off toward a home and slammed the door shut once he was inside.

"OOOOOO-K… talk about some serious issues." Goombella said. Pacifica watched as Koops slammed the door shut.

"I think I'll stay behind on this one." Pacifica said. "You guys go get those keys or whatever."

"Why aren't you coming?" Dipper asked.

"I just… need to speak with someone, okay?" Pacifica answered. The others seemed fine with it, and Mario, Dipper, and Goombella walked off into the fields toward the mysterious fortress. Meanwhile, Pacifica walked over to Koops' house and knocked on the door. There was no response. She grabbed the handle slowly opened the door.

"Hello?" She greeted. Koops was sitting in a fetal position on a stool.

"W-What do you want?" He asked nervously. Pacifica approached him.

"I can see you're under quite a bit of stress." Pacifica said. "What's wrong?"

"…W-Why are you helping me?" Koops asked, now looking at Pacifica.

"I can relate to what you might be going through." Pacifica said. "I'm also under a lot of stress."

"Why?" Koops asked.

"…I'm really far away from my hometown." Pacifica answered, looking at the ground solemnly. "I've changed a lot since I left."

"Where did you live before?" Koops asked.

"In a town called Gravity Falls." Pacifica answered. "It's really far away… Really far…"

"You must really miss your family." Koops said. "I miss mine too. My dad went off to fight Hooktail, but he never returned." Koops looked down solemnly. "I've been called a weakling for a long time, and I've never been able to stand up for myself because of the stress of losing my father."

"I'm sorry." Pacifica said, trying to console him. "I guess we both have something in common, I guess. Our families are gone, and all I have left are my friends to support me…" Pacifica thought for a moment on how she had changed in the new world… how she had made a friend in Goombella, and Mario, and Dipper…

"I wanted to ask you guys if I could join your journey to Hooktail Castle." Koops said. "But I was too nervous. I could never really pull my weight even if you decided to take me along."

"Don't say stuff like that!" Pacifica said. "Let's just wait for my friends to come back, then you can ask them." She stared out the window. "Hopefully they come back…"

"Hopefully…"

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Took a while to write, and I got really bored during the time it took to write Kroop's dialogue, but the next chapter will focus on Mario, Dipper, and Goombella in Shhwonk Fortress, so that will be enjoyable to write. I was playing some Paper Mario TTYD as I wrote this chapter, so I did have some fun during Kroop's seemingly endless dialogue.**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	5. Chapter 1 - Part 2: Shhwonk Fortress

**Another day, another chapter. In the last chapter, the Castle And Dragon arc had begun, and the gang made it to Petalburg! Now with knowledge of how to enter Hooktail Castle and find the Crystal Star, Mario, Dipper, and Goombella went off to the strange Shhwonk Fortress, but Pacifica stayed behind to speak with the shy and seriously stressed out Koopa, Koops. Now, let's check on the rest of the gang, shall we?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 1: Castle And Dragon - Part 2 - The Stone Keys Of Shhwonk Fortress_

Dipper dodged the rock monster that charged at him, called a Bald Cleft, although a second one caught him off guard, tripping him. Mario had become a lot more swift thanks to the Close Call badge, and dodged another attack, using his hammer to land a weak blow on one of the Bald Clefts.

"Mario! These attacks aren't working!" Dipper said, dodging another attack.

"Dipper! Try the Power Smash!" Goombella called, head bonking a Bald Cleft, not causing any damage.

"I can't!" Dipper yelled. "I don't have enough strength to do it!"

"I guess that's what it means by FP!" Goombella said, dodging more attacks. "Your body must have a limited amount of Flower Power stored inside! You must have used it all up!"

"Well, isn't that just dandy?" Dipper asked sarcastically.

"What about this?" Mario pulled out a red block with the word 'POW!' on it.

"Of course!" Goombella remembered. "POW Blocks pierce defenses! Use it, Mario!" Mario tossed the POW Block above his head and jumped upward, hitting its underside. It exploded, causing the Bald Clefts to implode. They vanished in a puff of smoke, and the exits inside the building they were had opened up once more.

"Well," Dipper wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting. "That battle was a long one."

"Well, we pulled through, didn't we?" Goombella asked. "We're one step closer to Shhwonk Fortress!"

"You're right, Goombella." Mario said. "We have no time to lose. We have to get those Stone Keys!"

"Right!" Dipper and Goombella said in unison.

The three exited the building through the new exit and continued onward, fighting Koopa Troopas, Paragoombas, and the occasional Spiky Goomba, before finding themselves in yet another building. The first building was made of dull, blue-gray bricks, but this one was made of slightly less dull red-gray bricks. Upon entering, they saw another exit that was barred up, just like the one from the previous building. Inside were two pedestals like the previous building, but on top were strange balls with spikes covering every inch of them, and they had broken faces like a badly carved out jack-o-lantern. When all of them entered the building, however, the entrance they had used to get inside was blocked off by bars that extending out from the walls. The strange balls jumped off of the pedestals, and Goombella pulled out her tattle logbook.

"Guys, watch out! Those things are Bristles!" Goombella said. The Bristles stuck their spikes out toward Mario and Dipper, who swiftly dodged. "Max HP is 2, Attack is 2, and Defense is 2! These things will eject their spikes at you, so getting close to hammer or jump will be too dangerous!"

"No hammering or jumping…" Dipper thought for a moment. "…we better use an item." Dipper pulled out another POW Block and tossed it in the air. Then he jumped up and hit the underside of the POW Block and it exploded. Then the Bristles imploded on themselves and burst into puffs of smoke, and the entrance and exit became unblocked, the bars going back inside the walls.

"That was a quick battle." Dipper said. "We're breezing through this, I had expected more of a challenge." He loosened the grip on his staff, already relaxed from battling.

"That's a good thing though, right?" Mario asked. "We can get the Stone Keys a lot quicker if we just breeze by the battles." He put his hammer away and adjusted his Close Call badge so it wouldn't fall off of his overalls.

"Yeah, Mario's right." Goombella said. "If the battles are this easy, Shhwonk Fortress would be a quick thing to get done."

"But we don't know how difficult it will be." Dipper pointed out. "We still can't let our guard down." The group exited the second building. "I've taken time to read about Shhwonk Fortress." Dipper pulled out a book and opened it. "According to this book, Shhwonk Fortress has three guard stations, two of which we've conquered." Dipper flipped through a few more pages. "The third is the hardest, and many travelers have tried to get past it, but only a select few have succeeded."

"So we have a major difficulty spike here." Mario said.

"Yeah, we do. This could be very difficult if we don't know what we're doing." Dipper put the book away and the group continued on.

After fighting a few Koopa Troopas, Paragoombas, and a Spiky Goomba, the group found another building, this one even bigger than the last two. It was made of dull yellow-bricks and did not have an exit on the far wall, but instead a statue of a pedestal with a gray block, surrounded in spikes, resting on top of it. A little bit of light was let in from a few holes in the ceiling above, and some tiles on the floor were missing, showing patches of dirt with weeds growing on them. The three of them approached it.

"What is it?" Dipper asked.

"Some sort of statue." Mario said. Goombella flipped through pages in one of her many research books.

"My books don't say anything about a statue guardian of Shhwonk Fortress." Goombella said. "Probably because nobody made it out to write about it or document it."

"Well, where I come from, I seem to have a thing with strange objects." Dipper said. "Honestly, it doesn't surprise me that we're stuck without knowing what this thing even is." Dipper read an engraving on the statue. "For the most handsome prince, we guard your beloved… what does that even mean?"

"Maybe this thing is a monument of sorts?" Goombella suggested. "Probably for some sort of royalty, considering it says 'prince' on the engraving."

"If this statue is supposed to represent the look of the so called 'handsome prince', then he wasn't very handsome." Dipper said. A face then appeared on the spiky block, an angry one at that, and stared at Dipper.

"How **_dare_** you insult the Shhwonk Prince!" The statue roared.

"Ah!" Dipper got a frightened look on his face and stumbled backwards, falling over. He scotched away from the statue before standing up again.

"Foolish travelers, who art thou?!" The statue roared.

"We're travelers who seek the Stone Keys of Shhwonk Fortress!" Goombella said.

"Hmm… You three seem powerful." The statue said. "I do have a challenge, but you may not make it out alive. Are you willing to take me on?!" The three group members thought for a moment, then nodded yes without any hesitation whatsoever. "Very well. Let the challenge begin!" Then, in the blink of an eye, the room they were in turned into a room filled with colorful blue, white, red, and yellow lights, and the statue now sported a red bow tie and had a microphone in front of it. The three heroes stood in a red and gold booth with a screen above them with the number '1' on it, and the front part of the both had a '?' on it. The three heroes were very confused.

"Welcome to the 65th annual Super Fun Quirk Quiz!" The statue said. "Today, our contestants will have to answer five, that's right, five, questions correctly if they wish to proceed! But if they answer three wrong, they will suffer a horrible fate! Muhahaha!" A paper card appeared in front of the statue. "This first question is for the boy in the blue vest!" Dipper, although very confused, stepped forward.

"Question Number 1! What is hidden in this place? Is it A) The Stone Keys, B) The Crystal Star, C) Princess Peach, or D) The Pickle Stone?" Dipper automatically knew the answer. This question was laughably easy.

"The answer is A, The Stone Keys!" Dipper said proudly. A little ring played in the background and the '?' on the front of the booth changed to a circle, indicating the answer to the question was correct.

"That is correct!…wait, correct?!" The statue was shocked. "Grrrr, the question was too easy! But it will only get harder from here! This next question is for the little goomba girl!" Goombella stepped forward and Dipper stepped back. Another card appeared in front of the statue. The circle on the booth reverted to a '?', and the '1' on the screen turned to a '2'.

"Question Number 2! What do one Mr. Softener and one cost at the shop in Petalburg? Is it A) 10 Coins, B) 12 Coins, C) 16 Coins, or D) 20 Coins?"

Goombella didn't know the answer. She hadn't even gone into the shop in Petalburg… well, not yet at least. She thought long and hard, and finally, she decided to take a wild guess.

"Is it… C? 16 Coins?" Goombella winced, hoping her answer was correct. A little ding was heard, indicating the question was correct.

"Another correct answer?!" The statue was, once again, shocked. "Hmph! Forget it, that one was too easy as well! The next question will be very hard! Red cap, you're up!" Mario stepped forward and Goombella stepped back. Another card appeared in front of the statue as the '2' on the screen became a '3'.

"Question Number 3! What is the name of the mayor of Petalburg? Is it A) Kooskoos, B) Burtle, C) Moopa, or D) Kroop?"

Mario had already remembered the name of the mayor, so this question was far too easy.

"The answer is D, Kroop!" Mario said. Once again, a little ding noise played in the background, signifying the answer was correct.

"Correct again?! How do you know all this?!" The statue still seemed surprise that the travelers had a vast knowledge of the answers to the questions. "No matter! The next question will be very difficult! Blue vest, you're up again!" Mario stepped back and Dipper stepped forward once again. Another card appeared in front of the statue, and the screen changed from a '3' to a '4'.

"Question Number 4! Where is the Crystal Star? Is it A) Rogueport, B) Hooktail Castle, C) Mushville, or D) Petalburg?"

Dipper, seeing as this quiz was far easier than he thought, and that this challenge… wasn't much of a challenge, said in a proud voice:

"The answer is B! The Crystal Star is located in Hooktail Castle!" He had a smile of determination on his face. A dinging noise was heard, and the question was correct.

"Wait… four questions correct?! How is that even possible?!" The statue was worried these travelers would succeed in winning the quiz. "I'll make sure this final question is incredibly, ridiculously hard! Goomba girl, you're up again!" Dipper stepped back and Goombella took a step forward.

"Question Number 5! How can one get from Petal Meadows to Rogueport? Is it A) Boat Across the Sea, B) Only by Air, C) Go Through a Pipe, or D) Race in a Kart?"

"Seriously?! This question is, like, a total joke!" Goombella scoffed. "The answer is totally C! We came through a pipe to Petal Meadows an hour ago!" She gave a smug smile at the statue.

"No… no!… NO!" The statue was enraged. "All five questions correct?! You three must be geniuses!" The room returned to normal, and the bow tie on the statue vanished. "Fine! If you want in to Shhwonk Fortress, here you go!" The statue spun around for a second before sliding backwards, a pipe emerging from the ground it previously stood on. "HMPH!" The statue closed its eyes and its face vanished, leaving the room completely silent.

"Well… I don't see how anyone failed that challenge." Dipper said.

"I'm guessing not everyone had the knowledge of the Crystal Stars." Goombella suggested. "Or they came straight from Petalburg and didn't know how to get to Petal Meadows from anywhere else."

"That makes some sense." Mario agreed with Goombella's theory. "Now come on. The pipe to Shhwonk Fortress is right here!" The three approached the pipe, and Mario let out a signature "Let's-a-go!" before jumping into the pipe, followed by Goombella, then finally Dipper.

:::::

The three emerged from the pipe in a dark, blue-black bricked room with water filling a part of the floor, just up to their ankles (or in Goombella's case, her neck tie.). Before anyone did anything, Mario noticed a Badge Block nearby. He walked over to it and hit it from underneath, revealing a badge that looked like a single green boot. Mario picked it up and read the note attached.

"Multibounce. Requires 1 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer can perform Multibounce to attack all enemies, jumping from one enemy to the next instantaneously. 2 FP is required to use this attack." Mario pinned the badge on his overalls, just above his Close Call badge. "A jumping badge works perfectly for me!"

"A split path…" Dipper looked down the left hall, then the right. "We should split up. I'll go down the left." He turned to Mario and Goombella. "You two go down the right."

"Okay, but I need to warn you about something, Dipper." Goombella said. "The monsters in this place are called Fuzzies, and they have the ability to drain your Hit Points, or HP, and use it to replenish theirs. Just be on guard, okay?"

"Alright." Dipper said, then he proceeded to walk down the left hallway, with Mario and Goombella going down the right hallway.

:::::

Dipper, now at the other end of the hall, entered a rather sizeable room with a single platform in the middle and no other entrances or exits other than the one he used to get inside. A dim light shined on the middle of the platform, and inside the light was a strange looking stone that looked like a moon.

"Aha!" Dipper exclaimed. "That must be one of the Stone Keys!" He walked up to the platform and stepped on to it, out of the water. He bent over to pick it up, and when he did, four little black fuzz balls with eyes and a mouth emerged from four small holes in the ceiling.

"Whoa!" Dipper said surprised, falling backward. He expected these things to be the Fuzzies Goombella had brought up only minutes earlier. He quickly got back to his feet and readied his staff. One of the four Fuzzies bounced toward him and jumped on to him. It stuck to his arm and began to make a sucking noise. It detached itself moments later and became a bit more faster and energetic. Dipper felt a tiny bit weaker. He had just lost a Hit Point. He knew he would have to be ready for these attacks, or else he'd lose the battle in no time.

He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a Fire Flower, then proceeded to shoot it at the Fuzzies. It severely damaged all of them, causing three of them to spin around before bursting into puffs of smoke. The one Fuzzy that remained, however, was the one that had sucked a Hit Point out of Dipper at the beginning of the fight. Dipper rushed towards the Fuzzy, and the Fuzzy did the same towards Dipper. Just before hitting the Fuzzy, however, Dipper turned and ran left. The Fuzzy stopped moving and looked around confused, before Dipper came down from above and struck the Fuzzy in the head with his staff, making it spin around before bursting into a puff of smoke.

"Well, that takes care of that." Dipper noticed the moon-shaped stone on the ground near his feet. He bent over and grabbed it, then left the room and went back toward the main room.

:::::

Goombella used an extra POW Block to deal some extra damage to the group of four Fuzzies she and Mario were fighting, while Mario finished them off with a Multibounce, jumping from one Fuzzy to the next without fail. They had grabbed a red circle stone that had yellow spikes surrounding it, resembling the sun. They quickly proceeded back to the main room to meet up with Dipper.

They entered the main room at the same time as Dipper, but stopped noticing something in the middle of the room.

"Whoa!" Goombella said amazed. "Isn't that a Gold Fuzzy?! Those are like, super rare!"

"Meowrk!" The Gold Fuzzy shouted, bouncing around the center of the room angrily. "So, you fools think you can just come into our home, beat up my friends, and steal the treasure?"

"What the…?" Dipper seemed confused. "I'm guessing you found this place abandoned and you wanted this to be your home? Don't worry, we'll leave if you want us to."

"What?" The Gold Fuzzy seemed very confused. "No no, you have it all wrong!" Now the three heroes were confused. "You see, you may have thought you conquered all of the challenges and beaten all the guards, but I'm the real final challenge of Shhwonk Fortress!"

"So then…" Mario pulled out his hammer. "You're looking for a fight?"

"Heh heh heh, you bet your bucket I am!" The Gold Fuzzy said with a smirk.

"That's not even a saying…" Dipper said under his breath. He quickly pulled out his wooden staff and prepared himself for the battle.

"Let the battle commence!" The Gold Fuzzy took a step towards Mario and Goombella, but quickly spun around and raced toward Dipper, jumping up and bonking him on the head, knocking him over in surprise. Dipper quickly got back to his feet and activated his Power Smash badge, transforming his staff into the metal hammer it was during the Blooper battle back in the Rogueport Sewers.

"Power Smash!" Dipper jumped up and brought the metal hammer down on the Gold Fuzzy, dealing massive damage and sending it bouncing back to the middle of the room. His staff quickly returned to normal after the end of the attack, but Dipper was now panting heavily, completely out of strength after only one turn in the battle.

"Mee-OOF!" The Gold Fuzzy said. "Heh, you guys are tougher then you look… but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve!" He looked up at the darkness above, the ceiling shrouded by it. "Come on out, guys!" Then, a bunch of regular Fuzzies fell from the darkness above, at least 50 or more, and surrounded the Gold Fuzzy. While the gang was surprised, and a little frightened, they quickly regained their senses and prepared their next attacks.

Mario pulled out a blue mask, a Fright Mask, and put it on, and the Fuzzy Horde quickly ran off and jumped through cracks in the wall to hide. The Gold Fuzzy trembled, seeing as it was no longer defended by anything. Dipper activated another Power Smash attack, although he was a bit more sluggish than normal. He ran over to the Gold Fuzzy and lifted the hammer up.

"Power Smash!" He brought the hammer down on the Gold Fuzzy, making it dazed and confused and creating a bump on its forehead. It regained its senses and looked at the group.

"You're just a bunch of jerks!" The Gold Fuzzy said in a cowardly tone. "Take the treasure, I don't care! Just leave!" The Gold Fuzzy bounced off toward the wall and jumped in the cracks, concealing itself.

"Well, we got the two Stone Keys!" Goombella said. "Let's return to Petalburg!"

:::::

It was mid-evening when the gang reached Petalburg once again, and upon arrival, they saw the nervous Koopa, Koops, standing with Pacifica near the gate. The three walked up to the two others.

"Finally! You guys are back!" Pacifica said. "You've been gone for at least three hours!"

"Well, we got the keys." Mario said, holding up the Sun Stone. Dipper proudly held up the Moon Stone. Pacifica smiled.

"Great job, guys!" She turned to Koops. "Now, I believe you have a question for these guys?" Dipper, Mario, and Goombella were confused by Koops' presence.

"Um, yeah…" Koops stepped forward. "Um, well, you see…" The others waited for Koops' question. "Oh please take me with you to fight Hooktail! PLEASE!" The group members were surprised at Koops' outburst.

"Koops, calm down!" Pacifica said.

"R-Right…" Koops took a deep breath. "You see… my dad went off to fight Hooktail a year ago, but… he never returned. Since that point, I've wanted to get stronger so I could go out and fight Hooktail and avenge my father, and…" He took another deep breath. "…when you four rolled into town saying you were off to Hooktail Castle, I thought I finally had the chance to prove my worth, but I couldn't bring myself to ask you guys…"

"…I can understand what you're trying to ask." Dipper said with a small smile. He placed a hand on Koops' shoulder. "You're welcome to come along on our quest."

"R-Really?!" Koops jumped up and down in joy. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Now that this is all good and done," Pacifica began. "We should go rest up at the inn, then set out for Hooktail Castle in the morning. Sound good?" The others nodded their heads. As they made their way back to the inn, Dipper's stomach growled.

"Oh man, I haven't eaten anything at all since me and Pacifica arrived in Rogueport two days ago." Dipper said. "I'm starving!"

"Oh! You're in luck!" Koops said. "The inn has a dinner night every Friday! We can get something to eat there!"

:::::

The group sat at a large, round table and picked up their menus, ready to order something to eat.

"They have Life Shrooms on this menu?!" Pacifica gasped. "Aren't those things like, totally expensive?"

"Yeah, but these are the Artificial Life Shrooms." Goombella answered. "They're filled with caffeine, so you'll stay up all night if you order one. The All Natural Life Shrooms are the ones sold in stores, usually filled with a ton of fresh and exotic herbs. They're the ones you want, but they don't serve them here."

"Well, in that case…" Pacifica looked over the dinner section of the menu. "… I'll have a Shroom Crepe!"

"Are you sure you can pay for it?" Goombella asked. "The Shroom Crepe is really fancy, but really expensive. It costs even more than the Life Shroom!"

"I can pay." Pacifica said. "Besides, it looks pretty good from the picture."

"Oh, believe me," Koops began. "It is. It's a wonderful, more exotic dish than some of the others here."

"Hmm…" Dipper scanned the menu. "I don't have a lot of coins on me, so I'll go with something simple…" He found a certain dish that intrigued him. "What's a Shroom Cake?"

"A really good dish for a dinner meal." Goombella answered. "It's one of the best dishes I've ever eaten."

"Well, I'll order that then!" Dipper decided on his meal, just as the waitress/inn keeper returned to their table.

"Have you decided on your orders yet?" She asked sweetly.

"I'll have the Shroom Cake." Dipper said.

"One Shroom Crepe for me, please!" Pacifica said.

"I'll have a Super Shroom, just to keep things simple." Mario said.

"Hmm… I'll take a Spicy Soup." Goombella said.

"And I guess I'll have the Koopasta." Koops said.

"Okay then!" The waitress/inn keeper took their menus. "I'll be back soon with your orders!"

:::::

Later in the night, after everyone had their meals, the group was asleep in their room in the inn except for Dipper and Mario. Dipper was staring out the window at Hooktail Castle in the distance. Mario walked over and stood beside him.

"How are you holding up?" Mario asked.

"Well… I'm still not used to this whole "alternate world" type of thing." Dipper answered. "It feels too weird."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get used to it." Mario reassured Dipper.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Mario." Dipper concentrated on Hooktail Castle. "I wonder what challenges lie ahead in Hooktail Castle."

"Maybe we might find one of your friends there?" Mario looked at Hooktail Castle as well. "Who knows, but you better get some sleep. You will need all the energy you can get in the morning."

"Alright Mario." Dipper walked over to his bed and sat on it, and Mario did the same with his bed. "Night."

"Goodnight, Dipper." Mario said, before falling asleep. Dipper was about to lay down as well, but he noticed something poking out of Goombella's history book, which was on a table nearby. It was a slip of paper. Dipper grabbed it and pulled it out and unfolded it. He was shocked at what he saw.

The paper had a number at the bottom reading '36', obviously a page number. It seemed to have been torn out of the book, but mysteriously placed there again. A passage covered a small part of the page, and Dipper read it to himself s he wouldn't wake up the others.

"From another world, a hero arrives. He lands in a town that barely thrives. With one other companion by his side, his own power, he must abide." Dipper was shocked at this mysterious page that he had never found in the book, and he read Goombella's books many times. "To open the mysterious millennium door, one must have the map of lore, along with the Crystal Stars of light, destiny shall shine with all its might. To find the lost friend, to fight till the end, this hero shall stay alive, and will fight to survive." Dipper finished reading the eerie passage, but what freaked him out even more was the appearance of a doodle of a pine tree, a question mark, and a shooting star at the bottom of the page, as well as a doodle of a Star Piece, a mushroom, a pickaxe, a bandage, a necklace, a spotted egg, a striped hat, a heart, an anchor, an ice bag, a broken heart, a lollipop, a lizard, a fez, and an axe, and they were all formed a circle with the pine tree at the top.

Dipper was very confused by these strange symbols. What did they mean? Who was this other worldly hero? It couldn't be him… could it? He wasn't the only one from another world, though, but instead of thinking about it, Dipper folded up the page, put it in his pocket, and drifted off to sleep.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**This is probably the longest thing I've ever written on here. Yes, this long chapter was worth the wait I assume, so I hope you enjoyed it! Considering I'm writing this in Microsoft Word, this chapter went from page 34 to 46, and the word count jumped from 9,000 to over 14,000 just from this one chapter... so yeah. I still question wy I don't write chapters as long as this one for my other stories... Hmm...**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	6. Chapter 1 - Part 3: Bone Chilling Battle

**Hello friends, 087-B here once again! In the last chapter, Dipper, Mario, and Goombella recovered the Stone Keys inside of Shhwonk Fortress and safely returned to Petalburg! Now, after Dipper discovered a mysterious page that not only foretold of an other worldly hero, but had 17 mysterious symbols forming a circle at the bottom of the page… what does it mean? You won't find out for a while… a long while!**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 1: Castle And Dragon - Part 3 - A Bone Chilling Battle_

After a long and good night of rest, Dipper awoke on his bed, yawning and stretching at the same time. He at first thought the whole ordeal of the alternate world was a dream, but instead, he found himself still inside of the Petalburg inn. It was as real as the gnomes he and Mabel encountered so long ago… Thoughts of him and Mabel flooded Dipper's mind. He missed her so much, he didn't know where she was or what she was up to, and the only person he recognized as a familiar face around her was Pacifica, and the two were enemies at first… but Pacifica seemed to have a change of a heart, and one for the better, too.

Dipper rubbed his eyes and grabbed his staff, which was leaning against the windowsill. He yawned once more and left the room, then walked down the stairs. The rest of the group sat at the table they sat at last night for dinner, most of them looked as tired as he did. He looked out the window. The sun was just barely over the horizon, and the sky was a deep periwinkle blue with some pink/orange hue mixed inside, sort of like a detailed painting.

"Oh, Dipper." Pacifica began. "You're awake." She gestured for him to sit down. "Come on, the 'Saturday Breakfast Bash' is about to begin!" Dipper groggily walked over and sat in a seat between Mario and Koops.

"Saturday Breakfast Bash?" Dipper asked.

"It's pretty much just a normal breakfast morning they do every Saturday morning." Koops answered. "They change around the menus, so take a look at the new food items." Koops passed a menu to Dipper, who took it and opened it. The words were blurry, and he had to once again rub his eyes to clear his vision.

"Wow, I still can't believe most of these foods are from Zess T.'s personal cookbook!" Pacifica said in awe. "She's a really fabulous cook! Meanwhile, I'm a…"

"Meanwhile, I'm a…" Goombella muttered to herself.

"…total klutz in the kitchen!" Pacifica and Goombella surprised each other with what they had said in unison, before both burst out laughing.

"It's good to see the girls having some fun." Dipper said to Koops and Mario.

"You're right, Dipper." Koops said. "It's a really good thing."

"Pacifica has quickly grown accustom to this world." Mario said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she started dressing like a Toad."

"Okay, let's order!" Pacifica said. "They have a wide variety of drinks this time! I think my breakfast will be…" Pacifica scanned the menu thoroughly. "… a Mango Delight, with a Fresh Juice to drink!"

"Mango Delight is one of the sweetest fruit related foods out there!" Goombella said. "I maybe be a terrible cook, but I know my foods. I was a food critic for a term in high school, ya know."

"Wow! You probably got to try a lot of Zess T.'s meals then, didn't you?" Pacifica asked.

"Yep! There weren't as many as there are today, mind you, but she was spectacular back then!" Goombella answered. "Now, for my breakfast…" Goombella scanned the menu for a while.

"I'm still a little tired," Koops began. "So I guess I'll order a Zess Frappe so I can get some energy in me."

"I will have…" Dipper looked around the menu. "… an Omelette Meal with a Koopa Tea as my drink! It's very cheap, so I'm pretty sure I can afford it!"

"You seem to order a lot of cheap food Dipper." Mario pointed out. "If you want a bigger breakfast, I have the money to pay for it."

"Thanks Mario, but I'd rather pay myself." Dipper said. "You get a big breakfast if you want one."

"Okay then." Mario scanned his menu over.

"Good morning! Are you ready to place your orders?" A new waitress toad appeared at their table with a notepad and pen.

"I'll take an Omelette Meal with a Koopa Tea." Dipper said.

"I'll have a Mango Delight with a Fresh Juice!" Pacifica said.

"I'd like a Mousse Cake with a Zess Tea, please." Goombella said.

"I'll have a Zess Frappe." Koops said.

"And I'll have a Healthy Salad with a Tasty Tonic!" Mario said.

"Alrighty then! I'll be back with your orders soon!" The waitress toad finished writing the orders down and took the menus, then walked away.

"So guys, I think we need a plan for Hooktail Castle." Dipper said.

"I agree." Pacifica said. "We can't just rush in there… can we?"

"That does sound a bit too dangerous…" Koops said. "What should be our approach?"

"Well, we could probably sneak in." Goombella said. "The entrance might be guarded, so a secret entrance would help. But I don't think one exists…"

"What if it isn't guarded?" Mario suggested. "We have not seen anyone or anything go in or out of the castle except for Hooktail, the first time we arrived here, but since then, nothing."

"Mario, you might be on to something." Pacifica said. "We should head off first thing after breakfast. Then, we see what we can do about the castle."

"I like that idea, Pacifica." Dipper said.

"Same!" Goombella agreed with Dipper. "Both Mario's and your ideas are great!"

"So we have a plan then!" Koops said.

"Then it's settled!" Dipper said. "We know what to do about the castle, we're able to get in, and we know where the Crystal Star is! We've made some great progress!"

"Indeed we have." Mario said.

"I'm back!" The waitress set all the plates, trays, dishes, and cups on the table. "Breakfast is served!"

:::::

The gang had finished their breakfast and were completely energized. The five of them had made their way back to the entrance to Petal Meadows near the pipe to the sewers, and saw two big stones, one with a moon indent and one with a sun indent, and a stone shaped like a pipe in the middle.

"Well, here goes nothing." Dipper placed the Moon Stone inside the moon shaped indent, and Mario placed the Sun Stone in the sun shaped indent. The ground around them rumbled, before the pipe shaped rocking burst into pieces, revealing a green warp pipe underneath. At the same time, another pipe appeared on the hill near Hooktail Castle, growing out of the ground similar to a few other warp pipes they had encountered in their quest.

"Here we go!" Dipper exclaimed, jumping into the pipe, followed by Mario, Pacifica, Goombella, then finally Koops. All five of them emerged out of the pipe on the far hill, and they entered Hooktail Castle.

They had arrived in a small gateway type area with a brick catwalk overhead, and another doorway on the other side. Upon walking through it, the five heroes found a bridge, completely broken with a large gap going jaggedly through the middle. A big purple door rested on the other side, obviously the entrance to the actual castle.

"Shoot! How do we get across?" Pacifica asked.

"Hmm…" Mario looked around before walking back into the gateway.

"Mario? Where are you going?" Goombella followed him with the others trailing close behind. They found Mario standing in front of a yellow spring type of object.

"Um, what _is _that?" Dipper asked, confused.

"It's a trampoline." Mario answered. "If we jump on it like so…" Mario jumped on it and bounced off of it, going high enough to land on the brick catwalk above. "Come on up!" Goombella jumped first, followed by Koops. Pacifica didn't even hesitate. She jumped on and went flying up, saying "Woo-hoo!" as well. Dipper was at first surprised by Pacifica's sudden change of personality, but realized this world was a good influence on her. He then jumped on and went shooting upwards, landing on the brick catwalk along with the rest of the group.

"That was a rush!" Pacifica said happily. "Come on, we should be close to getting in!" The group proceeded forward, now on a balcony above the bridge. The balcony had an airplane symbol on it.

"Ah, check it out!" Mario said. "We can use this to fly across!"

"Um… how do we do that?" Koops asked.

"Like so!" Dipper said. He stood on the platform, and to Koops' surprise, he became a paper airplane. He flew across to the other side, landing in front of the door and reverting to normal.

"Now it's our turn!" Pacifica said. She and Goombella did the same as Dipper, changing form, flying over, and reverting to normal.

"I don't mean to be a killjoy, but I can't change like that." Koops said. Mario thought for a moment.

"I have an idea!" He grabbed Koops' wrist and changed into an airplane, and Koops did so as well to his surprise. They flew over to the other side of the bridge and returned to normal.

"That felt… weird…" Koops said. "How are you all able to do that?"

"Long story." Mario answered. Dipper approached the door and grabbed the handles. Then with all of the strength he could muster, he pulled hard on the handles and opened the doorway.

:::::

Once inside, the gang marveled at how civilized the castle appeared to be, but after a moment, they realized this castle was almost abandoned. They took a few steps forward before seeing Koopas and Paratroopas guarding the halls.

"Aw crap." Dipper said. "Looks like this castle isn't so dead after all." He readied his staff, Mario readied his hammer, and Pacifica readied her scepter. The battles were fierce, but ended in a victory for the five heroes.

"Hold on guys, I'm feeling a bit weak." Pacifica said, panting heavily after the battle. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Mushroom, then ate it and restored some of her HP.

"Alright, we ready to move on?" Dipper asked.

"Just about… wait a second." Mario walked over to a Badge Block he saw. "This is the third Badge Block we've found!" He jumped up and hit its underside, and a badge that looked like a blue boot popped out. Mario picked it up and read the attached note.

"Power Bounce. Requires 3 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer can perform Power Bounce, which allows the bearer to jump on a single enemy multiple times until they mess up. 3 FP is required to use this attack." Mario tried to pin it on his overalls, but it wouldn't go in.

"Huh, why won't it go on?" Mario asked.

"I have a theory." Dipper said. Everyone turned to face him. "I think you don't have anymore available badge points."

"How do we get more?" Pacifica asked.

"Well, you know how after a certain amount of battles, we suddenly get stronger in a way? Like when our HP rises or our FP rises?" Dipper asked. Pacifica nodded. "Well, we just need to upgrade BP at that time. I've gotten three of those already, and I upgraded my HP once and my BP twice."

"That… kind of makes sense." Pacifica said. "I guess you could call it… a 'Level Up', maybe?"

"That sounds cool." Dipper said. "I like that."

"They don't happen often, I guess." Mario said. "I guess you can have it Dipper." Mario tossed the badge to Dipper, who caught it and pinned it to his hat.

"Alright! My jump must be pretty powerful now!" Dipper said.

"Look, a door is over here." Mario pointed to a door at the end of the hall.

"Okay then, let's go!" Goombella said.

They all continued onward through the door, where they found another long hallway, although this one was thicker. It had skeletons crumbled on the ground, and another door at the end of the hall. A part of the hall was blocked off by some bars, and behind it was a red key, and it most likely opened up a locked door somewhere else in the castle.

"Well, this room is pretty straight forward." Dipper said, but the others began snickering. "What's so fun- Oh, right, "straight forward"." Dipper couldn't help but snicker as well. "Come on, let's go-" He was cut off as Koops ran past him in a hurry.

"Wha- Koops, wait up!" The others ran after him, only to find Koops standing around a pile of bones that resembled a Koopa, and blue boots were in the pile. Koops had a sad look on his face, and Dipper tried to console him.

"Koops, what's wrong?" Dipper asked. Koops turned to face him.

"This… this skeleton… it's all that remains of my father." Koops answered solemnly.

"Oh my…!" Pacifica gasped. "Koops, I'm… I'm so sorry…" She hugged the Koopa, trying to console him. Koops was a little surprised by the hug. Immediately she stopped hugging him. "Oh, sorry…"

"It's fine. Thanks." Koops noticed a note inside of the pile of bones. "Oh, my dad had a note… er, his bones do, I mean." Koops picked it up and read it, and once he got to the end, his eyes widened. "Um… whoops! It turns out, this skeleton wasn't my father."

"That's good." Goombella said. "That means he might still be around here somewhere, maybe just trapped in a cage!"

"Maybe, but the note said something really important." Koops said. "It said that to defeat Hooktail, we need to find something relevant to its weakness, which is something that starts with 'Cr' and ends with 'icket', but I don't know what that means."

"Well, we'll find out soon." Mario said.

"Yeah, that's some pretty valuable information right there." Dipper said.

"The note also mentioned that when Hooktail gets weak, it will try and play tricks on gullible warriors, and when they fall for said tricks…" Koops took a breath. "…they're eaten alive."

"Wow, talk about gruesome." Goombella said.

"Yeah…" Koops turned around and noticed something at the end of the hall by the doorway. "But wait… if this skeleton isn't my dads… maybe that one is?" He pointed to a skeleton lying in front of the doorway. The group made there way over to it. The pile of bones was red, with the boots being a darker red.

"This pile of bones doesn't look like my father…" Koops said. "Never mind, then."

"Hmm… strange. I'll move it." Dipper grabbed the pile of bones and began to move them out of the way, but as soon as he touched them, the bones started shaking before piecing themselves together, creating a red Koopa skeleton. The group took a step back, surprised.

"Who dares disturb me?" The skeleton spoke in an eerie voice. The five heroes were too frightened to answer. "Foolish travelers, you must suffer the punishment of trespassing!" A ton of walking Koopa skeletons dropped from the ceiling and covered almost every centimeter of the room. They tried to push the group out of the room, and the group struggled to break free.

"Ah! Let go!" Dipper tried to grab his staff, but to no avail. Mario managed to grab his hammer and began hammering the skeletons away, creating a path for the group to get through. They made there way back to the red skeleton, and Dipper smacked it with his staff. Then, all the normal Koopa skeletons disappeared except for four of them, and those four ran to sides of the red skeleton.

"Looks like we have a battle on our hands." Dipper said, adjusting his badges and readying his staff. "Goombella, does your book have any info on these things?" Goombella flipped through here tattle log.

"The gray skeletons are called Dull Bones! They're relatively weak, so they shouldn't be a problem!" Goombella said. She flipped to another page. "The red skeleton is called a Red Bones. It freaks me out cause of its high HP and attack power, and it can rebuild fallen allies! Talk about creepy!"

"I'll start this battle!" Koops said. He got into his shell and readied an attack. "Power Shell, go!" His shell spun around rapidly before he flung himself at the enemies, go through each of the Dull Bones, knocking them down, and dealing some damage to the Red Bones.

"Nice job, Koops!" Dipper said. "I got this turn!" He activated his Power Smash badge and his staff transformed. "Power Smash!" Dipper brought the hammer up and slammed it down on the Red Bones. It wasn't as strong as his previous Power Smashes, as he didn't store up as much power, but he still dealt a good deal of damage to the Red Bones.

"Now it's my turn!" Pacifica said. She jumped up and slammed her scepter down towards the Red Bones, but it dodged the attack, and managed to trip Pacifica in the process. Then in summoned a red bone in its hand and smacked Pacifica with it.

"Get off of my friend, freak!" Goombella shouted, stunning the Red Bones with a powerful headbonk attack, dealing some damage and allowing Pacifica to get away.

"I'll finish this thing off!" Mario held up his hammer and smashed it repeatedly on the Red Bones until it was a pile of red dust, then it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and everything returned to normal.

"Well, I guess this place _was_ guarded after all." Pacifica said. "Thanks for saving me Goombella."

"Don't mention it!" Goombella said with a smile. "I don't like seeing friends get hurt! Now, let's get a move on! The Crystal Star is really close! I can practically feel it!"

The five heroes opened the door and proceeded on through the castle, ready to face off against the dragon Hooktail for their first Crystal Star.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**This one didn't take as long to write, but I think it came out good. Next chapter will probably be the Hooktail battle, so expect Chapter 2 (game-wise) to come soon. But, until then…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	7. Chapter 1 - End: The Dreaded Hooktail

**Well, I think we're here… the finale of Chapter 1! With the gang now inside Hooktail Castle, they've only scratched the surface of what's inside! They're main mission is to obviously get to the top and defeat Hooktail, but they've uncovered some good news, and bad news. The good news is that the group has discovered Hooktail's weakness! The bad news is that Hooktail will do anything to save itself. It'll even play tricks and try to gobble down travelers whole! Of course, they still have to find something that was related to Hooktail's weakness, and a special surprise awaits them at the top of the castle! But enough talk, we should check on our five heroes.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 1: Castle And Dragon - Part 4 - The Dreaded Hooktail_

"Get up." Hooktail's voice roared throughout the large colosseum room. Wendy lifted her head, stuck inside of a cage and covered in chains. She was bruised, and her spear and helmet were broken. Hooktail didn't have a scratch on it, and Wendy was so weak she could barely blink.

"I said get up." Wendy weakly got up, stumbling a bit.

"What do you want?!" Wendy asked angrily.

"You're my afternoon lunch." Hooktail said. "But I think I can spare you for just a little bit longer." Wendy stayed silent.

"…I'm sure they're around here…" Wendy said to herself. Hooktail heard her, its interest piquing.

"You have friends?" Hooktail smiled mischievously. "I think they'll make wonderful appetizers." Wendy gasped. She just gave away her friends and how they might come and save her… how could she have been so stupid to let the dragon know about them?

She glumly sat down in the cage. She knew her friends most likely weren't strong enough to take down this dragon, so she calmly accepted her fate.

Heck, she didn't know if her friends were even near her location.

:::::

The group had made it significantly farther into the castle, and they now entered a different looking room. It was lit up by the light coming in through the windows, and it had some cages in it, most likely a dungeon to keep prisoners in. They explored the room a little before Dipper noticed something out of the ordinary.

"Whoa, guys, check this out." Dipper gestured for the others to come to him, and they all looked between the bars of one of the cages, and inside the cage was a badge, a red circle with a large white musical note in the center.

"A badge?" Pacifica seemed confused. "Why would a badge be here?" She tried to reach through the bars to get it, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Dipper noticed a small hole in one the walls behind the bars of the cage next to the one containing the badge.

"How do we get in there?" Dipper looked around before noticing a red '!' switch nearby. Mario noticed his gaze and took out his hammer.

"I'm already ahead of you, Dipper." Mario smashed the hammer on the switch, and the bars rose upward into the wall. The group entered the now open cell, but after everyone was inside, the bars dropped back down again, trapping them inside.

"Aw shoot." Goombella said. "Now how do we get out?" Dipper was ahead of them, and was already crawling through the small entrance.

"We should follow him." Koops said, quickly crawling through the small hole as well, and the rest of the group followed suite.

The five of them emerged in another room, this one had a large Black Chest in the middle of it, and a door on the far wall.

"That chest seems familiar…" Pacifica said. "I could've sworn we've seen it before."

"We saw one in the Rogueport Sewers, right?" Goombella asked. "It gave us the ability to turn into paper airplanes."

"So _that's _where they got that power…" Koops thought to himself. The Black Chest shook a little bit, vibrating, before stopping.

"Whoa! You guys can hear me?!" A voice emerged from the Black Chest. "So you all must be the legendary heroes!"

"What… legendary heroes?" Koops was confused.

"So, since you guys can hear me…" The Black Chest began. "…then you guys can open up this chest for me, right? I've been trapped in here for over 1,000 years!"

"Nope, we aren't opening it." Mario said. "I don't want to risk being cursed again. We got lucky last time."

"Wait a second, Mario," Dipper began. "What if this really is just a new ability and not a curse? We should at least try."

"…alright." Mario said. "But if we run into any more chests like these after this, we are NOT opening them."

"Okay then." Dipper agreed with Mario, then turned to the Black Chest. "Alright, Black Chest, I'm assuming you need a key?"

"You're a step ahead of the game, man!" The Black Chest answered. "The key is nearby, I can just feel it! It might be in that room over there." The Black Chest leaned to the left toward a purple door.

"Okay then, seems easy enough." Dipper said. "We'll grab the key and get back as soon as we can."

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" The Black Chest said. "I shall happily await your return!"

:::::

Wendy struggled on the bars of the cage, trying to break free. She grabbed them and yanked hard, pulling and pushing with all her might, but she couldn't do anything.

"Foolish girl," Hooktail began. "I already know I have some visitors in this castle. Maybe you know them." Wendy looked up at Hooktail. "I saw a young boy in a blue vest, a white cap sat upon his head." Wendy gasped. "A young girl with blonde hair, a white undershirt and a red sleeveless shirt above it." Wendy knew it was Pacifica, but wondered why she was with Dipper, or even why they were there in the first place. "A man in overalls, a mustache, and a red cap." Wendy seemed very confused at that last one.

"That guy doesn't sound familiar." Wendy said.

"Whatever, I guess…" Hooktail thought for a moment. "…I guess that boy would make a pretty good appetizer… and the girl would make a nice flambé once I heat her up." Wendy shook the bars again.

"Don't you dare touch my friends!" Wendy said angrily. Hooktail chuckled.

"All we do is wait… but you get a nice few up top." Wendy's cage began to rise up to the ceiling.

"My friends will destroy you, you nasty dragon!" Wendy yelled. "Just you wait and see!"

:::::

"Here we go!" Dipper said, holding a key. The group entered the room to the left and ventured to the center, finding a wooden chest. Dipper opened it, and inside was the Black Key needed to open up the Black Chest in the previous room.

"Well, let's get out-" Goombella's sentence was cut short when spikes emerged from the ground almost everywhere, as well as the entire ceiling.

"Oh boy…" Koops said as the ceiling began to slowly descend.

"If we don't get out of here…" Mario said.

"…we'll be crushed to death!" Pacifica shouted. Seeing as the spikes that emerged from the ground formed a maze of sorts, the group had a bit of trouble navigating their way back through the room. The spikes had been centimeters away from the tops of their heads as soon as they made it back to the Black Chest in the other room.

"Sweet! You got the key!" The Black Chest said happily, shaking a bit.

"We almost got… crushed to death… by spikes!" Dipper said, obviously out of breath.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, unlock this box and let me out!" The Black Chest didn't care for their condition.

"We almost… died for this… stupid key!" Pacifica panted, out of breath as well.

"I don't care! I'm the important one here! Unlock me!" The Black Chest said angrily.

"Fine!" Dipper, annoyed, walked over to the Black Chest and stuck the key in the lock. Once he turned it, the chest shot open.

"Woo-hoo! Thank- Ha! Thank NOTHING!" The Chest Demon said. The room became pure darkness. "FOOOOLS!"

"W-Whoa! What's happening?!" Koops said frightened.

"This curse will be so terrifying! You'll probably-"

"Just curse us already!" Mario said, cutting off the Chest Demon and getting very impatient.

"Okay, okay!" The Black Chest said. "With this curse, if you think about being paper… you'll become as flat as paper!"

"…that's it?" Pacifica asked.

"What? What do you mean?" The Chest Demon was confused.

"Well, it doesn't seem like much of a curse." Pacifica said. "I mean, becoming paper? That's seems cool and all, but that's not frightening whatsoever."

"I don't need your opinion, brat!" The Chest Demon said. Pacifica growled at it. "Just take the curse and go!" The room returned to normal as the Chest Demon vanished, leaving nothing but the open, empty Black Chest behind.

"Well, this ability may prove useful!" Dipper said. "In fact…" Dipper crawled through the hole in the wall once more with the others following. Standing in front of the bars, he thought long and hard about paper.

"Dipper, are you doing what I think you're doing?" Mario asked. Dipper then became as flat as paper. He slid through the bars and escaped the cage, then returned to normal.

"Indeed, I did do what you thought I was doing!" Dipper said proudly. He dashed over to the red '!' switch and whacked it with his staff, causing the bars to rise up and release the rest of the group.

"Way-to-go, Dipper!" Pacifica cheered.

"Yeah, nice job dude!" Goombella said.

"It was nothing." Dipper said. "Wait, where's Mario?" The group turned to see Mario, flat as paper, sliding through the bars of the other cage, returning to normal, grabbing the badge, then turning back into paper and sliding out. He reverted to normal and held up the badge.

"I think we have found something useful." Mario said. He tossed the badge to Dipper, who read the note attached aloud.

"Attack FX F Badge. Requires 0 BP to wear. When worn, the sound the bearers melee attack makes will be different. This badge changes the sound to a Cricket chirp." Dipper's eyes widened. "A cricket chirp? Cricket starts with "Cr" and ends in "icket"!" Dipper quickly pinned the badge to his hat. He took out his staff and hit the ground with it. Upon making contact with the ground, the normal noise was heard, with a cricket chirp over it.

"I think we've just found the key to defeating Hooktail!" Goombella said. "We should be close to Hooktail by now! Let's go get that Crystal Star!" The others nodded and exited the room.

:::::

The group came to another room. It was small with one window, a few chests, and multiple crates containing battle axes, maces, shields, and swords. One even contained pieces of a guillotine. As soon as they entered, however, they saw they weren't alone.

"Oh my my, I never expected to be followed here." A feminine voice said. The group saw a small, white mouse lady with a heart shaped tail, red high heels, and a red masquerade mask.

"Do you plan on being any trouble to us?" Dipper asked. "We're kind of on a mission to find a gem called the Crystal Star, and we don't want any problems on the way."

"A Crystal Star?" The mouse lady was confused. "I've never run across such a treasure in this place." Dipper was nervous now. Why did he give away their plan? "But I've already gotten what I've came here for." She gestured to one of the open chests. "I'm Ms. Mowz, a world renowned badge hunter."

"I'm Dipper." Dipper said.

"I'm Pacifica." Pacifica said.

"My name's Goombella." Goombella said.

"The name's Mario." Mario said.

"And I'm Koops." Koops said.

"Ah, I've never heard of you five before, but I'll tell you some valuable information on finding this "Crystal Star." You may find it useful." Ms. Mowz said. "The secret to defeating that brute, Hooktail, is located in this castle in the form of a badge."

"We've already gotten the badge, ma'am." Dipper said, pointing to the Attack FX F badge on his hat.

"Well, one step ahead, now are we?" Ms. Mowz walked slowly over to Dipper and Mario, then kissed the two of them on the cheek. The two were shocked and blushed very hard. Ms. Mowz leaped on to the windowsill.

"Well, I shall be taking my leave now." Ms. Mowz said. "I'll see you around, Mr. Mustache and Little Hat Boy…" She jumped out the window, and the group didn't see her after that.

"Oh geez…" Dipper's blushing died down.

"That was… exhilarating to say the least." Mario said. His blushing died down as well.

"I'm a bit envious of you guys." Koops said.

"You guys must get all the ladies!" Goombella said annoyed. "Though, that Ms. Mowz seems a bit too flirtatious, if you ask me." She noticed something poking out of one of the chests. She walked over to the chest and opened it, revealing a key to a door in the castle.

"Aw, sweet!" Goombella grabbed the key and tossed it to Mario, who grabbed it successfully. "Alright gang, let's move on!"

:::::

Wendy sat in her cage, bored as heck, when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. On the bridge below, connecting the castle to the tower, the two big purple doors pushed open, with something emerging from inside the castle.

"What's that over there?" Wendy whispered to herself so Hooktail wouldn't hear her.

:::::

The five heroes pushed the doors open, coming onto the large bridge that connected the castle and a large tower. Koopas and Paratroopas guarded the bridge.

"Well guys, this is it." Goombella said. "This is the last stand between us and Hooktail!" The group had some trouble defeating the enemies due to the somewhat large amounts, but they were able to get through without wasting FP or Star Power (SP). They crossed the bridge and ran up the spiral stairwell. At the top was a Spiky Goomba but they easily defeated it. Going up a few more steps, the group found a large set of purple double-doors.

"Well, Hooktail should be inside that room, guys." Dipper said.

"We've come so far…" Pacifica stared at the giant doors. "…and the Crystal Star is right behind that door."

"Wait guys, what's that?" Koops pointed at some rubble lying in front of the doors. The group walked over to the rubble.

"It's a broken spear, and a crushed helmet." Mario said. A spear was indeed snapped in half, and a spiked helmet was crushed into tiny little pieces.

"Do you think someone was here?" Pacifica asked.

"Maybe…" Dipper thought for a moment. "…what if that belonged to one of our friends?"

"That… might be true." Mario said. "Your friends could be anywhere… maybe one is here."

"You don't think Hooktail might've gobbled them up, do you?" Dipper asked. He was worried if Mabel had stumbled across Hooktail.

"It seems unlikely." Mario said. "I'm sure your friends are strong."

"Okay…" Dipper pulled out his staff looked at the other four. "Well, are you guys ready?"

"I'm ready for this." Pacifica said as she pulled out her scepter and twirled it around a bit.

"Let's-a-go." Mario said, pulling out his hammer.

"Count me in." Goombella said.

"I'm prepared." Koops said.

"Alright then…" Dipper turned toward the door and grabbed the handle. "Let's go in."

He pushed the doors open.

:::::

The group entered, and to no surprise, they saw the large red dragon known as Hooktail. Hooktail stomped a foot down and roared.

"Hmm, so you are the 'friends' spoken of by the prisoner?" Hooktail asked. "You seem very tasty."

"What prisoner…?" Dipper seemed confused.

"Dipper?!" Dipper turned and looked up to see a caged Wendy. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"W-Wendy?!" He took a step back surprised. "You're… why are you… what are you doing here?!"

"Wait, what are you doing here?! What is this place?!" Wendy bombarded Dipper with a bunch of questions. Hooktail roared again.

"Silence, prisoner! Or else you shall be an early snack!" Hooktail looked at the five heroes. "Hmm… the bottoms of your feet would make good starting appetizers, and your insides would be very good seasonings… oh, who cares! I'll just gobbled you down HEADFIRST!" Hooktail tried to eat the group, and they swiftly dodged.

The battle had begun.

"Dipper!" Mario called out. "Activate the badge!"

"Right!" Dipper activated the Attack FX F badge and jumped upward towards Hooktail, smacking it in the head with his staff. A cricket noise played, and immediately Hooktail began to feel woozy.

"Whoa… was that a cr-cricket?" Hooktail made a loud gulp as if trying to hold back vomit. "I h-hate crickets!"

"Ah-ha!" Dipper landed on the ground with a smile of determination. "The badge works!" Goombella launched a headbonk, but Hooktail countered by breathing fire on Goombella, sending her falling back to the ground, but she quickly got back up and dodged a biting attack, then Koops launched a shell toss and successfully hit Hooktail.

Meanwhile, Wendy watched in shock from the cage at the power Dipper had shown. What had he been doing all this time?

Mario attacked with a jump attack, landing two good hits on Hooktail's snout, but Hooktail attacked by biting Mario, then slamming Pacifica with its tail.

"Hey, Hooktail!" Dipper called out. "How about we play some 'cricket'?" Dipper jumped up and hit Hooktail's snout again with his staff, causing another cricket chirp to erupt from the staff, making Hooktail feel dizzy.

"Nice one, Dipper!" Pacifica said, hitting Hooktail's ankle with her scepter.

'Since when did Pacifica start complimenting Dipper?' Wendy thought. '…wait, since when did Pacifica start fighting alongside Dipper? When did Pacifica start fighting?!'

Dipper made another attack, this time activating the Power Bounce badge this time. His shoes turned into glowing blue boots, and he jumped up on to Hooktail's snout, bouncing repeatedly on it. He landed about five good bounces before slipping up and falling, landing on the floor, but getting back up quickly, as his shoes returned to normal.

"W-Wait!" Hooktail woozily called out. The battle had momentarily stopped.

"What do you want?" Dipper angrily asked.

"Please, if you spare me…" Hooktail began. "…I'll pay you 1,000 coins!"

"Keep your coins, fraud!" Pacifica yelled. "We know you play tricks on unassuming people!"

"What?! I'd never play tricks…" Hooktail disagreed with Pacifica. "…but if you spare me, I'll give you an incredibly rare badge!" Dipper raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"…what does this badge do?" Dipper asked.

"It automatically makes your body counter against enemies perfectly, and you always hit enemies every time!" Hooktail answered. "It makes you the perfect warrior!"

"Well, if you say 'perfect'…" Dipper began to walk forward, but Mario stopped him.

"Keep your badge, cad!" Mario said. "No such badge even exists!"

"Fine then, but if you really want…" Hooktail took a breath. "…I'll let you smell the bottoms of my feet! People pay a lot of money to smell the bottoms of my feet! So what do you say?"

"That's just disgusting!" Dipper yelled. "What, do you think I have a fetish?!"

"Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom has a fetish for something!" Hooktail said. Dipper looked at Mario, who simply shook his head, indicating Hooktail was lying.

"You're really creepy, Hooktail." Goombella said.

"Well, I guess I better…" Hooktail slammed the chain holding Wendy's cage with its tail, breaking it. The cage fell to the ground and smashed. Wendy weakly crawled out, but Hooktail scooped her up in its mouth and swallowed her whole.

"No, WENDY!" Dipper shouted. Hooktail smiled an evil smile.

"I feel better already!" The battle resumed.

Mario jumped and smacked Hooktail with his hammer right on its jaw. It shook off the attack and bit Pacifica, but Pacifica countered by hitting Hooktail's eye with her scepter.

Koops did a shell toss which Hooktail evaded, but Goombella did a headbonk and landed some decent damage on Hooktail. Hooktail wobbled a bit, but it wasn't finished.

"Take THIS!" Dipper activated the Power Smash badge and, as his staff transformed into the large spiked hammer, jumped up and smashed the hammer down on Hooktail's snout.

"**Power Smash!**" Dipper landed on the ground, panting heavily, and his staff returned to normal.

"No!" Hooktail shouted. It stumbled a bit, then its eyes started rolling rapidly. "So many things I wanted to do in life… so many meals…" Hooktail let out one final roar before falling over onto its back. It didn't move, and it didn't make any attempt to get up

It was defeated.

:::::

The room shook when Hooktail landed on its back, but the battle was finally over.

"Phew." Dipper wiped sweat from his forehead. "It's finally over."

"We did it!" Pacifica cheered, wiping dust from her clothes, something she had never done before the Warp Pipe Incident. "But… where's Wendy and the Crystal Star?"

Just then, Hooktail's stomach rumbled, and lumps began going through its neck, before it spat out a blue shell of a Koopa and Wendy. The shell landed firmly on the ground, and Wendy hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Wendy!" Dipper ran over to Wendy. She got up slowly and rubbed her head.

"What happened…?" Wendy wobbled around a bit before regaining her balance. "Dipper?" She remembered where she was and what was happening. "Again, where are we?"

"Oh boy, I've got a LOT of explaining to do." Dipper said. "You see, it began with this pipe in the forest near the Mystery Shack…" While Dipper explained the situation to the newly rescued Wendy, Koops walked over to the shell. It jumped up and opened, revealing a blue-shelled Koopa with bushy brown eyebrows and a small brown beard.

"…d-dad?!" Koops' voice was shaky.

"K-Koops?!" Koops' Father was surprised to see his son.

"Dad!" Koops hugged his father tightly, who returned the hug. Mario, Goombella, and Pacifica walked over to them.

"Where were you? What happened to you?" Koops asked. "We all thought your game was over! You know, like your story was abruptly ended!"

"Well, I went off to fight Hooktail, and just when I was about to win," Koops' Father said. "That foul beast played a trick on me and gobbled me down whole! I survived by hiding inside of my shell!"

"…and then we came here in search of the Crystal Star!" Dipper finished explaining everything to Wendy. She sort of understood what was happening.

"So, the goal here is to help this Mario guy collect a bunch of stars made of crystals?" Wendy scratched her head. "That's quite a lot to process, but I guess it makes sense." They had rejoined the others.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" Koops said, but he remembered something. "Oh, dad, while you were down there… did you happen to find a gem called a Crystal Star?"

"Huh? I don't think I did… Do you mean this?" Koops' Father held up a big gem shaped like a star. It was light grey, more over white, and it sparkled in the sunlight that shined through the windows. The heroes gasped. "I found it down there in Hooktail's belly, and I decided to keep it as a souvenir! But if you want it, any friend of Koops is a friend of mine!"

He dropped the Crystal Star on the ground in front of them, and Mario walked over and grabbed it. The Crystal Star floated around him in circles before He held it up in the air. Everyone clapped.

They had finally gotten their first Crystal Star.

**-{****End Of Chapter 1****}-**

**Yes! The Castle And Dragon arc is complete!**

**Mario and friends successfully made it to Petal Meadows with knowledge of the whereabouts of the first Crystal Star! They got inside Hooktail Castle and bested the wretched Hooktail, rescuing Wendy and Koops' Father, whom he thought was dead.**

**With Wendy now added to the group, and the first Crystal Star in hand, Mario and the others continue their quest in search of the rest of the Crystal Stars, but where is Princess Peach? And where are the rest of Dipper and Pacifica's friends? These questions will be answered as the adventure continues…**

**Save all story progress up to this point?**

**Saving, do not press the power button on your laptop or home button on your mobile device…**

**Save complete.**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	8. Chapter 1 - Interlude

_Chapter 1 Interlude - The X-Nauts, TEC, And One Pompous Oaf_

The gang had just received their first Crystal Star, but as they returned to Petalburg, something different was happening in another part of the world.

A robotic person with a dome shaped head, a large black overcoat, and a strange staff with a black orb with a white X on it rested on top. The room he was in was large metallic room with metal torches with blue fire on top, and a big, strange circle symbol in the middle of the floor, and Lord Crump stood near one of the torches. On the far wall was a blue metallic door. It slid open and one of the mysterious overcoats walked in.

"Um, Sir Grodus, sir?" The overcoat began.

"Speak, X-Naut." The robot man Sir Grodus said, calling the strange overcoats X-Nauts.

"We, uh, brought the two prisoners you wanted, sir dude, sir." The X-Naut stuttered.

"Good." Sir Grodus said. "Bring them in."

"Yes sir." The X-Naut crossed his arms upward in an X shape, saluting Sir Grodus, then walked out of the room. He and another X-Naut returned into the room, holding a young lady in a pink dress and long blonde hair with a small golden crown on her head. They held her arms firm, and she didn't struggle at all.

"Ah, Princess Peach," Sir Grodus said to the princess. "Welcome to the X-Naut Fortress."

"Who are you?" Peach asked. "What do you want me for?"

"We need you to… wait a second." Grodus turned to one of the two X-Nauts. "Where is the second prisoner?"

"Um, about that, sir Grodus dude, sir…" The X-Naut rubbed the back of its head. "The other prisoner is a bit… feisty." Then the doors reopened, and two more X-Nauts entered carrying another prisoner, this one struggled to break free of their grasps.

"Let go of me, you cross-eyed freaks!" Mabel Pines tried to pull her arms out of the X-Nauts' grasp, but she wasn't able to free herself. The X-Nauts dropped her next to Peach, but she didn't try and run, knowing that she could be in a dangerous place.

"There she is, dude. I mean sir." The X-Naut said. He saluted and walked out of the room.

"Who the hey-hey are you? And why are those freaks carrying me everywhere?!" Mabel angrily yelled questions at Grodus.

"Allow me to elaborate." Grodus began. "My name is Grodus, but you will call me Sir Grodus. I know you two as Princess Peach and Mabel Pines." Mabel was a little frightened by this strange man and his seemingly endless knowledge. How did this guy know who she was? Where in the world was she anyway?! "This is the X-Naut Fortress. I am the leader of the X-Naut army, and you two are of utmost importance to us and our plans." He turned to Princess Peach. "Princess, I'm aware you have knowledge of the location of the Magical Map. You will tell me where it is."

"Never! I'll never tell!" Peach said. Just then, a holographic monitor appeared in the air near the center of the room, with an X-Naut appearing on it. Everyone in the room turned to look at it.

"Um, sir?" The X-Naut began. "I have some, uh, bad news, sir."

"Spit it out already." Grodus said.

"It appears that someone, um, already found the, uh, Crystal Star that dragon Hooktail was guarding. They nabbed it." The X-Naut said.

"What?!" Grodus was shocked. "Who else could possibly be after the Crystal Stars?!"

"Some chubby mustached guy with a red hat, and some short kid with a blue and white hat, sir Grodus, dude, sir." The X-Naut answered.

"Mario!" Peach gasped.

"Dipper!" Mabel gasped.

"Ah, I see…" Grodus said. "…very well, I have an idea to take care of this 'Mario' and 'Dipper' you speak of. Be off, X-Naut."

"Right, sir." The X-Naut on the monitor saluted before the monitor disappeared.

"You guards take the prisoners back to their rooms." Grodus commanded.

"Yes sir." The other X-Nauts said.

"And I want them to both get back unharmed." Grodus added. "Now, off with you." The X-Nauts saluted before taking Peach and Mabel back to their prison room. Grodus turned to a PhD looking X-Naut in a white lab coat and a blue overcoat.

"Now, X-Naut, bring me the Shadow Sirens." Grodus commanded.

"Yes sir dude, sir." The X-Naut walked out of the room. Almost immediately, three figures rose out of the ground. One was a short purple figure with gray hair and a blue-white striped hat, one was a larger, overweight purple figure with short dark-gold hair and a yellow-white striped hat, and the last was a mid-sized purple figure with pink hair and a red-white striped hat. The three of them were female, also.

"You called, Sir Grodus?" The short one asked.

"Ah, Beldam." Grodus began. "You had the map back in Rogueport, why did you not get it from the princess?"

"I would've, sir," The short one called Beldam began. "But there were too many prying eyes. Too many… and before I could grab it, some old man came and took the princess away in a split second. There was simply nothing I could do."

"Very well, then…" Grodus began. "It appears two people named 'Mario' and 'Dipper' have come into possession of the Magical Map."

"And you require us to get it?" Beldam asked.

"Yes, and we've already pinpointed the location of the next Crystal Star." Grodus said. "It is located in the Boggly Woods. I need you three to ambush Mario and Dipper before they get there."

"Right away, sir." Beldam vanished into the ground.

"Guuuuuuuh." The large one vanished into the ground.

"Tee-hee!" The mid-sized one vanished into the ground. Lord Crump turned to Grodus.

"Anything you want me to do sir?" Lord Crump asked.

"Hmm…" Grodus thought for a moment. "…go off to Boggly Woods as well. I'm sure the Shadow Sirens will need some assistance."

"Right away, sir!" Lord Crump said. "Crump away!" He dashed out the doorway.

"I wonder…" Grodus thought for another moment. "I wonder if sending Crump out there was a good idea or not. He's a bit… out there." Grodus shrugged off the thought.

:::::

Mabel flopped onto the bed of the room she and Peach were in.

"I don't even know what's happening." Mabel said.

"Well, I'm kidnapped… again." Peach said to herself. "Mario and Toadsworth must be worried sick… again." Peach turned to Mabel. "And some girl is with me…"

Mabel lifted her head up and turned to face Peach.

"That guy said you were a princess." Mabel said. "Is that true?"

"Why, yes." Peach said. "I'm a princess. Shouldn't you know that?"

"I didn't know." Mabel said. "I don't live where you live."

"You don't live in the Mushroom Kingdom?" Peach asked.

"The Mushroom Whatnow?" Mabel was confused. Peach gave a small smile.

"This is the second time I'll have to explain this." Peach began telling Mabel how the world they live in is known as the Mushroom Kingdom, and how she rules over it as the princess. She told her about Mario and the many things he's done for everyone. By the time she was done, Mabel seemed to understand.

"So that means this is an alternate world?" Mabel asked. "Awesome!"

"Quite carefree, I see." Peach said. "Now according to what you said, Miss Mabel, you come from a town called Granny Fails?"

"It's Gravity Falls, princess." Mabel corrected Peach. "Not Granny Fails."

"Oh, sorry." They were about to continue their conversation when a door opened by itself, nobody on the other side.

"Yes! A way out!" Without thinking, Mabel bolted for the door. Peach decided to follow.

Exiting the room, Peach and Mabel found themselves in a long corridor filled with pipes, grates, and an elevator in the middle. All the way on the other side was another door.

"Well, let's go, I guess." Peach said. The two walked all the way down to the end of the hallway, and upon getting there, the door on that side opened automatically as well.

"How does this happen?" Peach asked herself. The two walked into the room to see a giant computer screen in the wall with a camera above it, and a small keyboard mounted inside a large control panel right in front of it.

[Hello Princess Peach. Hello Mabel Pines.] The computer said. The two were shocked to hear it speak. [I am known as TEC XX, but you may call me TEC. I am the worlds most perfect computer.]

"Um… okay then, uh, TEC." Peach said. "Where you the one who opened up those doors?"

[Indeed.] TEC said. [If you have any questions about this place or if you need anything, you may ask me. I can answer any question.]

"Well, TEC…" Mabel began. "Where exactly are we?"

[You are in the X-Naut Fortress. The X-Nauts need you for their plan.] TEC answered.

"That doesn't exactly answer her question, TEC." Peach said.

[I'm sorry. I cannot tell you the name of the exact area where the base is located.] TEC said.

"Oh, well…" Peach had an idea. "TEC, do you have messaging support?"

[Yes. I am the worlds perfect computer.] TEC answered.

"Well, may I send an e-mail to a friend using your, um, keyboard?" Peach asked. She needed to let Mario know she was okay.

[You may. It is permitted.] TEC answered. Peach walked over to the keyboard and began typing a message. Then, she hit Enter and the message was sent to Mario.

"What about me?" Mabel asked. Peach turned to look at her. "My brother Dipper is with this Mario guy, so I need to let him know I'm okay."

[Processing Data.] TEC outputted coding on his screen. Eventually, the lines of code vanished. [The boy you call Dipper does not posses a Mailbox SP or any other form of message receiver. Instant messages cannot be sent to this individual.] Mabel looked down solemnly. [Wait…] TEC processed more data. […data shows that the boy possesses a book entitled '3'. This book has a universal receiver.]

"The journal!" Mabel gasped. "But… it's a book. How does it receive messages?" TEC processed even more data.

[…that question has no valid answer. An explanation is that the book is not of this world.] TEC answered. [It will take more time, but you may send a message to Dipper through this book, Mabel.] Mabel happily dashed over to the keyboard and typed up a message. She hit enter, and after a minute or two, the message was sent to Dipper.

[It is getting late. You must return to your cell.] TEC said. The two walked over to the door just as it opened. [Goodnight Mabel. Goodnight princess.]

"Um, good night… TEC." Peach said before walking out of the room, followed by Mabel. The door shut again, and the lights in the room dimmed.

:::::

Meanwhile, in yet another part of the world, in a darker looking area, a castle sat upon a rock pillar above lava. Inside the castle was a throne, and on the throne sat a large, dinosaur-like anthropomorphic turtle, one with a spiked shell, horns, and spiked wristbands and a spiked neckband. Beside the throne was a smaller Koopa like lady in a purple robe and purple witches hat with some glasses on.

"So, Kammy, what you're telling me is some other goon has kidnapped the princess," The turtle began. "And that wretched Mario is searching for gems called Crystal Stars?"

"Indeed, lord Bowser." The turtle mage Kammy said. "If we leave now, maybe we can catch up to Mario, but he appears to already be in a group with others. A goomba girl, a koopa, a boy in a hat, a blonde girl, and a teenage girl."

"Sounds easy enough." Bowser said. "But how do we know where he is?"

"That's where _I_ come in!" The two heard a slightly squeaky voice. They looked toward the green double-doors at the other side of the long hallway-like throne room. The doors pushed open, revealing a smaller individual, a male, one with very pale white skin, black shoes, and an orange outfit, one that you would see on a prisoner, and handcuffs locked on his hands. But his most striking feature was his large white pompadour hair-cut that stood upright on his head.

"And who are you, squirt?" Bowser asked.

"Lil' Gideon Gleeful, at your services." Gideon said. "Now, if you can just free me from these handcuffs, your highness…" Gideon gave an eerie smile. "…I'll make this meeting a **lot** more worth your time."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**The first of many interludes, this time with the first appearances of Princess Peach, Grodus, The Shadow Sirens, Mabel, TEC, Bowser, Kammy, and Gideon! Talk about a ton of debuts here! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	9. Post-Chapter 1: Millennium Door 2

**Hey guys, 087-B here with yet another chapter. Not really sure what to name this one… how about the chapters between game chapters be called Post-Chapters? Yeah, that works.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Post-Chapter 1: The Millennium Door Revisited_

"You really have to leave?" Koops' Father asked. They had all left Hooktail Castle and made their way back to Petalburg.

"I don't have to, dad." Koops answered. "…but I want to. I want to go off with Mario and the rest and hopefully come back a stronger Koopa!"

"Well, if it's really what you want…" Koops' Father began. "Then I won't stop you."

"Thanks, dad." Koops replied. The two shared one last hug before Koops turned to Mario and the rest. "Sorry, goodbyes are hard on everyone here in Petalburg. Let's go!" They were about to continue when they heard a female voice call out to them.

"Koops!" Koops turned to see a female Koopa with a blonde ponytail and pink accessories running toward them.

"Oh, Koopie Koo." Koops and Koopie Koo hugged each other.

"Promise me, Koops…" Koopie Koo began. "Promise me you'll return unharmed."

"I promise, Koopie Koo." Koops replied.

:::::

After the somewhat emotional goodbyes, the six heroes were now walking down the path outside Petalburg, beginning to make their way back to the pipe that they used to get to Petal Meadows from the Rogueport Sewers.

"So where are we going next?" Koops asked.

"Well, according to the legend," Dipper began. "We need to return to the Thousand-Year Door to hold the newly received Crystal Star aloft." Dipper thought for a moment. "At least, that's what I think it said."

"What's so special about a big door?" Wendy asked. "Sounds kinda boring to me."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Goombella said. "It's spectacular."

"If you say so…" Wendy replied. "So I still don't get what's up with you guys. This new world is… pretty strange."

"You'll get used to it." Mario said. "Dipper and Pacifica already have."

"That reminds me," Wendy began. "Pacifica, why are you so… nice all-of-a-sudden?"

"This world…" Pacifica began her answer. "…it left an impact on me. It has so many quirky characters, yet so many dangers, it helped me to realize I'll have to change if I want to stay alive in this world and not be left alone."

A beeping noise was heard.

"What was that?" Dipper asked.

"It's my Mailbox SP." Mario answered. He pulled out a small electronic device. "The message is from Princess Peach!" He opened the message and read it aloud.

_Dear Mario,_

_I'm alright, just so you know. These people who kidnapped me are called the X-Nauts, and they need me and this other girl named Mabel for a plan of sorts. I don't like the sound of it. Also, the X-Nauts know about the Magical Map and the Crystal Stars, and they're hunting them down. They know about you, so be careful!_

_I know you can do it. And please… don't worry about me, okay?_

_From, Peach_

"A girl named Mabel?!" Dipper gasped. "That must be my sister!" Then he felt a vibration coming from his backpack. He opened it and pulled out Journal #3. It vibrated heavily and glowed a deep purple aura. When it stopped vibrating, Dipper opened it up, and a new page was there with a message formed on it.

"It's a message from Mabel…?" Dipper was confused, but he read it anyway.

_Dear Dipper,_

_Hey bro! How are ya? …okay, it's time to get serious. These X-Snots, or whatever they're called, kidnapped me and locked me up in their base with a princess. They say both of us are vital to some plan, and they're looking for some Mario guy, who has some sort of map and a star. What does it mean?_

_I'm safe for now, Dipper. Don't worry about me, just… figure everything out, okay?_

_Mabel_

"She's…" Dipper stuttered. "She's okay…"

"You must feel pretty happy to hear that." Wendy said. "My only question is how did that weird book get an e-mail?"

:::::

The group made their way back into the Rogueport Sewers and were nearing the chamber of the Thousand-Year Door. Upon entering the room, Koops and Wendy were awestruck at the size and beauty of the aged legendary door.

"Well Mario, you're the one with the star." Dipper said. "Would you do the honors?"

"Certainly." Mario stepped up on to the pedestal in front of the Thousand-Year Door and held up the Diamond Star. The light show had begun once again.

"W-Whoa! What the heck?!" Wendy shouted as she saw the ancient symbol filled light patterns appear on the ground they stood on.

In the North most part of the light circle was a small circle. Seven of these circles surrounded the pedestal. The Diamond Star hovered over the circle, then disappeared. Next, Mario held up the Magical Map, and a light beam shot down from the ceiling and exploded on the map. When everything returned to normal, the others gathered around Mario, who was holding the map for them all to see. Even Wendy decided to join them, as mystified as she was.

On the map, in the center, a little above the picture of Rogueport, was a small picture of a tree, a black one with white leaves, sitting in the middle of a black and white forest looking area. Overlaying the tree was a picture of a green Crystal Star.

"So that's the location of the second Crystal Star, huh?" Pacifica asked. "I wonder where that is."

"Well, maybe we should go see Professor Frankly about it." Pacifica suggested.

"Who?" Koops and Wendy asked in unison.

:::::

"Hmm, how strange…" Professor Frankly looked at the map. "I don't really know where this is."

"Not this again…" Dipper face-palmed.

"This might take a while. Talk about a mind-boggling predicament." Frankly gasped in realization. "Ah, I've remembered! The Crystal Star appears to be located in a place called the Boggly Woods!"

"Well, now we know where it is." Wendy said.

"Yeah, but how exactly do we **get** there?" Pacifica asked.

"The same way you got to Petal Meadows." Frankly answered. "Through a pipe in the Rogueport Sewers. I can't really decipher where the pipe is, so it will take some time to find out. Come back later today and I'll see what information I've gathered by then."

"Okay then, professor." Mario said. The gang left the house.

"So… what now?" Koops asked.

"I say we spend the rest of the day making preparations." Dipper suggested. "We don't know the difficulty Boggly Woods will throw at us, so it's best to gear up."

"I think that's a smart idea." Goombella agreed. "We all split up and do different tasks so we gear up to an equal amount, then meet at the inn by sundown."

"Okay then." Mario said. "Dipper and Pacifica, you stock up on badges. Get useful ones that we may need."

"On it." Dipper said. He and Pacifica walked off back toward Central Rogueport.

"Koops, you and Wendy gather items from the shops here in Rogueport. There are two shops, one in the Central area, and one in the West area." Mario continued.

"Sounds good." Koops said. He and Wendy walked off toward the shops.

"What do _we_ do?" Goombella asked.

"Hmm…" Mario thought for a moment. "I think I have an idea."

:::::

Dipper and Pacifica exited the Rogueport badge shop, the Lovely Howz Of Badges, carrying a small pouch filled with as many badges they could afford. Dipper sold his Attack FX F badge for a whopping 100 coins, and spent about half of the earnings on badges.

One of the badges looked like a blue version of Power Smash but with a blue diamond in the center called Piercing Blow. It pierced through a single enemies defense and did damage based on the regular power of the melee weapon used. Pacifica pinned it on her shirt.

Another badge looked like a blue square with a golden swirl in the middle called Pretty Lucky. It made enemies miss the bearer more often when the bearer was attacked. Pacifica pinned this one on her shirt as well.

The final badge they bought looked like a gray boot with two little spikes on the bottom called Power Jump. It allowed the bearer to do a single jump on one enemy, but the jump would do a lot of damage. Neither of them used it, and decided it would suit Mario best.

"Oh, Dipper, I almost forgot." Pacifica said. "Here." She took out badge that resembled a red hammer.

"Whoa…" Dipper took the badge. The note attached had yellowed with age, had some rips and wrinkles, and had some dirt stains. Dipper could barely read the note. "Fire Drive. Requires 3 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer is capable of using Fire Drive, hitting a falling fireball toward the enemies. The closest enemy takes the most damage, and the farther down the enemy, the less damage it takes." He pinned the badge to his hat. "Where did you get this?"

"I found this place called the Pit of 100 Trials." Pacifica said. "I decided to go down there to practice my fighting. I got to Floor 10 and found a badge called Sleepy Stomp, and on Floor 20 was this badge. I thought you'd like it."

"It's… it's awesome, Pacifica." Dipper said. "Thanks. But what did you do with the Sleepy Stomp badge?" Pacifica gestured to her bedazzled belt. On it was a badge that looked like a green sock with a smile on it.

"It's about time I get some badges." Pacifica said. "Maybe someday we can explore the rest of the Pit of 100 Trails, maybe get down to the bottom…" Pacifica thought for a moment. "I wonder what's at the bottom anyway…"

:::::

Koops and Wendy exited West Side Goods on the West side of Rogueport. Wendy carried a shopping bag filled with Super Shrooms, Volt Shrooms, and Life Shrooms, which Koops paid for considering Wendy had no coins.

"It feels so weird." Wendy said. "Normally I'd leave a shopping mall with a bag filled with soda and candy, but instead… I have a bunch of mushrooms."

"Like Mario said, you'll get used to this world quickly, Ms. Wendy." Koops said.

"Don't call me 'Ms. Wendy'." Wendy said. "Normal 'Wendy' is just fine."

"Oh, sorry." Koops apologized.

"Don't say sorry." Wendy said. "I understand you feel a little… uncomfortable in these new surroundings, I do too, but we can get used to it, right?"

"…yeah, you're right, Wendy." Koops said. When the two arrived in Central Rogueport, Koops stopped in front of the inn. "I'll be right back, I've got to get something."

"Okay then, but don't doze off… aw dang, I forgot something back at West Side Goods." Wendy said, walking off back toward the West Side. Koops walked inside the inn and returned outside holding a small brown box. He opened it, and inside was a Couples Cake

"Good, it's still intact." Koops said to himself. He closed the box and walked off toward the East Side.

:::::

Mario and Goombella returned to the East Side of Rogueport with a few small packages.

"Well, we did good, didn't we?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah, we did." Mario agreed. "Now we wait for the others." They noticed Koops come toward them.

"Hey guys." Koops said.

"Hey Koops." Goombella greeted. She noticed the box. "What'cha got there?"

"Oh, this?" Koops said. "It's… it's nothing." Then Dipper and Pacifica arrived.

"We've got badges!" Pacifica said, tossing the Power Jump badge at Mario, who caught it and pinned it on his overalls. Then Wendy arrived.

"I've got a few supplies." Wendy said. She showed the group all the Super Shrooms, Volt Shrooms, and Life Shrooms. "Think this'll sustain us?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this'll be good." Dipper said. "Well, should we go see Frankly now?"

"Now seems like the right time." Koops said.

:::::

"Well, I've found the pipe." Frankly said. "The pipe is located in a room next to the chamber of the Thousand-Year Door."

"That helps a lot." Pacifica said. "Oh, wait, Mario and Goombella, what's in those boxes? You never told us." Mario and Goombella smiled, opening the boxes and letting out very good smells.

"We thought we all could use some relaxing, so we brought dinner!" Mario said.

For the next while, the seven of them feasted on slices of Shroom Cake, plates of Spicy Pasta, Shroom Steaks, Shroom Fries, Shroom Roasts, and Shroom Crepes. While the others talked over their meals, Koops gestured for Pacifica to follow him outside.

"Yeah, Koops?" Pacifica and Koops stood outside Frankly's home.

"Well, I wanted you to have this." Koops showed the box to Pacifica and opened it. Pacifica gasped.

"A Couples Cake!" She took it out of the box and smiled.

"I know it's your favorite." Koops said.

"I love it! But… why did you get me this?" Pacifica asked.

"Well… you helped me back in Petalburg. You helped me come out of my shell… well, not literally." Koops said, blushing a bit. "We got along so well, we did so much… you helped me save my father from Hooktail…" Koops wanted to continue, but Pacifica kissed him on the cheek, making his face go red.

"It means a lot, and I know what you're trying to say." Pacifica said. "I'm flattered. But what about Koopie Koo?"

"She and I don't get along too much anymore." Koops said. "I plan on breaking up with her anyway, I'll let her down easy."

"Oh…" Pacifica said. She smiled again and hugged Koops, then pulled out two spoons. "It _is_ called a _Couples_ Cake, after all." Koops smiled, and the two dined on a sweet Couples Cake for the rest of the evening.

:::::

Later at night, in the inn, Dipper stared out the window once more, looking North toward where Boggly Woods would be. He sighed before lying back down on the bed.

"I wonder what lies ahead in Boggly Woods, the trials we may face." His eyes became heavy. "I guess I'll find out tomorrow."

He drifted off to sleep.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Well, another day another chapter uploaded. Hope you guys enjoyed, reviews are appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	10. Chapter 2 - Part 1: Not So Puni Problem

**Well, I say it's finally time to begin the Boggly Woods arc! With one Crystal Star in hand, the gang needs to get to Boggly Woods to find the next! Hopefully, they find someone from the other world there! Will they? …maybe…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree - Part 1 - A Not So Puni Problem_

Dipper yawned and sat up in his bed. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around. He was still in the Rogueport Inn. Every time he woke up, he expected the previous days to be a dream, but he was proven wrong the following day. He got out of the bed, rubbed the back of his head, yawned again, then grabbed his staff which was up against the wall.

"Another day, another task at hand…" Dipper said to himself. "I wonder what the Boggly Woods is like."

"The pictures of it look really weird." Dipper turned to see Pacifica wide awake and holding her golden scepter. "It's all black and white and stuff."

"When are we heading out?" Dipper asked.

"Mario said we should leave after breakfast." Pacifica answered. "In my opinion, that sounds like a good time to leave."

"Well, let's go what then." Dipper said. The two of them walked down the stairs to the bottom floor of the inn, which was a restaurant/bar. They saw Mario, Koops, Goombella, and Wendy sitting around the middle table. The two joined them, with Mario sitting between Mario and Wendy, and Pacifica sitting between Koops and Goombella.

"Well, morning everyone." Mario said. They all replied with a sleepy, yet heart filled good morning. Mario passed Dipper and Pacifica two menus.

"You know, I do have some coins left over…" Dipper said. "I say I'll order something more expensive…" He scanned the menu. "I'm settling on a Meteor Meal."

"Are you sure?" Goombella asked. "It costs a whopping 30 coins!"

"I'm quite sure, Goombella." Dipper replied. "I have enough."

"Someone's gonna have to order for me." Wendy said. "I don't have any… coins…" She looked over the menu. "I don't even know what any of these foods are."

"I have enough to order for two… wait, I have enough to order for three!" Pacifica said.

"How do you earn so much money?" Koops asked.

"During my free time, I take on troubles at the Trouble Center." Pacifica answered. "Or I go into the Pit of 100 Trials and sell my loot that I find afterwards."

"Wait, you took on the Pit of 100 Trials?!" Goombella was shocked. "That's like, totally extreme! Did you get to the bottom?"

"No, I got to Floor 20." Pacifica said. "I left at that point, but returned with two rare badges." She pointed to her Sleepy Stomp badge and Dipper's Fire Drive badge. "So in short, I make every second I'm here worth it."

"That's… something…" Wendy said.

"Now…" Pacifica looked over her menu. "I'll go with the Love Pudding, and Wendy… you'll have the-"

"Shroom Broth." Wendy said, cutting off Pacifica.

"Wow, that was fast." Pacifica said. "You sure?"

"Positive." Wendy answered. "It looks gross… yet awesome."

"Well, that settles it for both of our orders, I guess." Pacifica said. The others noticed Koops wasn't looking through his menu.

"Koops, why aren't you ordering anything?" Dipper asked.

"I'm saving my appetite for the Love Pudding." Koops said.

"But, you didn't order a Love Pudding…" Goombella said.

"I know. I'm having it with Pacifica." Koops said.

"The very name of the dish described us!" Pacifica said. "We're in love!"

"Whoa, didn't see that coming." Dipper said. "Good for you guys, I guess."

"Doesn't it feel weird to be in love with someone from another world?" Wendy asked.

"Not at all!" Pacifica said. "After a few days here, you think anything is normal." The waitress came by and, after writing down their orders, took their menus and walked off.

"We have a lot in common, so we really hit it off!" Koops said.

"Well, I support you two whole-heartedly!" Goombella said.

"I don't mean to spoil your happiness," Dipper began. "But I think we should set up a plan for Boggly Woods. We know how to get there, but we don't know what's in store for us."

"Dipper, give it a rest with the planning." Mario said. "I would prefer Boggly Woods to be a surprise."

"Fine." Dipper said, sighing. "I did some research, though, and I got some strange information." Dipper pulled out a book and opened it. "Says here that the Boggly Woods is inhabited by small, strange creatures called Punies, and they mainly inhabit this place called the Great Tree." He turned the page. "It also says that long ago, the Puni Elder came into contact with a strange star-shaped gem, and the Punies keep it hidden in the deepest depths of the tree."

"That sounds like that star crystal you guys are after." Wendy said.

"Crystal Star." Dipper corrected her. He closed the book. "Well, after breakfast, we all should immediately head out to the Rogueport Sewers to find the pipe to Boggly Woods."

"You mean you guys are heading there." Wendy said. "I'm staying here."

"What? Why?" Dipper seemed confused.

"You guys can go after your Crystal Stars, I'd rather stay in Rogueport where I can find a way back to our world." Wendy said.

"Wendy, we need all the help we can get in finding the Crystal Stars." Dipper said. "They might be our only way back to out world."

"…I don't know." Wendy said. "…okay, I'll join you guys for now." Dipper smiled.

"Great, the more people in the party, the better." Dipper said. The waitress returned and gave them their breakfast, and for the rest of the morning, the six heroes dined on a fabulous breakfast.

:::::

After their breakfast, the six heroes wasted no time in leaving the inn and running toward the pipe to the Rogueport Sewers. They all jumped inside the pipe and made their way towards the chamber of the Thousand-Year Door. They went down a pipe that led to the room before said chamber, and saw a small little grey creature with four tiny legs and a stem on its head with a green ball attached to it. The creature noticed them and scurried into a small cracked hole in the wall.

"That might be a Puni." Mario said.

"But how do we get to it?" Koops asked.

"Maybe through there?" Dipper pointed to a doorway in the wall next to the hole, but it was blocked off by some bars. Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Pacifica walked over to it and flipped to paper, then walked through the bars.

"Whoa…" Wendy was mystified by the strange power. "Unlike you guys, I don't think I can change to paper like that…"

"I think I have an idea…" Dipper said. He grabbed Wendy's wrist.

"Wait, what are you-" Wendy was cut off as Dipper flipped into a flat piece of paper, followed by Wendy. They both walked through the bars and returned to normal.

"That felt… weird." Wendy simply said.

"You get used to it." Dipper said. The two walked through the now accessible doorway to meet up with the others.

The room they were now in was a somewhat larger room. It had a pillar in the far left corner that had something on top of it, and in the right corner of the room were three steps that lead up to a platform that went nowhere. This whole room seemed like a dead end. Near the corner pillar, however, sat the strange little gray creature they had seen minutes before. It looked around for a way to escape, seeing as it trapped itself in this room with the group and ran into a dead end. The heroes ran over to it, and it jumped in fright.

"EEEEEEK!" The creature shrieked. "Please, don't eat me!"

"Whoa whoa, calm down!" Dipper said. "We aren't going to eat you!"

"You… you aren't?" The creature calmed down slightly.

"Yeah, we won't eat ya!" Goombella said. "Who are you, anyway?" The creature sighed in relief.

"I… my name's Punio, and I'm a Puni." The creature answered.

"So, Punio, why are you here?" Wendy asked.

"Well, I came here from the Boggly Woods." Punio answered.

"The Boggly Woods?" Dipper asked. "That's the place we're trying to find!"

"Really?" Punio asked. They all nodded. "Then maybe you could help me out with my… predicament?"

"Sure, if it means getting to the Boggly Woods." Koops said.

"You see…" Punio began. "Me and the rest of the Punies, my 'people', I guess, were attacked by some creeps called the X-Nauts, who were looking for something called a Crystal Star. They trapped all of the others, including my little sister, but… somehow, I got out."

"The X-Nauts!" Pacifica said angrily. "We aren't friends with those cross-eyed losers!" She looked down at Punio. "I'd be glad to help."

'Dang, she changed a lot in a few days…' Wendy thought to herself.

"Thank you all very much!" Punio said. "Those X-Naut screwballs won't know what hit them!"

"It's our pleasure to help." Mario said. "But… how do we exactly get to Boggly Woods?"

"Oh, right! This way!" Punio scurried over to the other side of the room toward the entrance, and the gang followed. "Hold on a second…" Punio entered a small hole in the wall.

"And this goes there…" He fiddled around with something in the hole as the others stared in confusion. "AH-HA!" A large clanging noise was heard, then at the top of the stairs, some of the wall vanished, revealing a doorway and two windows going to the right.

"Wow, awesome job, Punio!" Wendy called out. They all jumped up the stairs and went through the doorway, but instead of going right like everyone else, Dipper went left. This part of the tunnel was long and dark, but a light was at the end. Upon exiting at the light, he was all the way on the other side of the room, standing atop the pillar. On the ground was a badge. He picked it up and read the note to himself.

"Damage Dodge. Requires 2 BP to wear. When worn, if the bearer times his or her guard correctly, the damage taken will be lowered." Dipper pinned the badge to his hat. Then, he felt something in his pocket. He took out the piece of paper he found a couple days earlier. Unfolding it, he saw the pine tree, the star piece, the ice bag, the hammer, the pickaxe, and the bandage were all in color, but the other pictures were black and white.

"Strange… does this correspond to the people in the group?" Dipper shrugged and folded the paper back up, then put it in his pocket again. Running back through the tunnel, he returned to the others in little time.

"What were you doing over there?" Mario asked.

"Getting a badge." Dipper answered. In the new room they were in, a pipe sat against the wall. It looked like a gray-brown colored log, and little chips of the tiled ground near the pipe were broken, revealing gray grass with gray weeds growing out of it.

"This pipe should take us to the Boggly Woods!" Punio said. "Come on! Let's go!"

Punio scurried inside the pipe, followed by Mario, Goombella, Koops, Pacifica, and Wendy. Dipper smiled and looked into the pipe. It was like it was beckoning him to continue forward.

"Let's do this." Dipper jumped inside the pipe, ready for the adventure ahead.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**I'm back to updating, and it's fun to write again! I'll be posting chapters of this and Gravity Falls: Sinnoh Adventure pretty regularly from now on, then my other stories will follow suite. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	11. Chapter 2 - Part 2: Shadow Amongst Trees

**What's up guys? 087-B here with a new chapter! In the previous chapter, the gang met Punio and found their way to the Boggly Woods! In this chapter, they'll head off to the place that Punio lives to help the Punies!**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree - Part 2 - Shadows Amongst The Trees_

As Dipper fell through the pipe, it felt as if everything was loosing color and everything around him was turning to shades of black and white. He flew out of the pipe and landed on the ground. Looking around, the area he was in was just that: black and white. The trees were black with white leaves, the flowers had black stems with white petals, and the ground was black with a colored vine pattern on it. The sky was a tinted orange, but not the typical evening orange, but a peaceful, calming orange, like the sky was a painting. Dipper stood up and rubbed his head.

"This place…" Pacifica smiled and looked around. "It's so peaceful!"

"It's like the X-Nauts never even touched this place." Goombella said.

"So, where to next?" Dipper asked.

"The place I live at is called the Great Tree, and it's pretty much haven for us Punies." Punio said. "That is, until the X-Nauts showed up. It's this way, follow me." He scurried down a small path and the others followed. They all entered a clearing and stopped upon seeing the shadow sirens.

"So, according to master Grodus," Beldam began. "That Mario guy and this Dipper kid should be here soon. Are you two prepared, Marilyn and Vivian?"

"Guuuuuuh." Marilyn said.

"Of course I am, sis." Vivian replied.

"Good." Beldam said, "Now, in order to identify them and ambush them, we need to look at the poster of Mario that master Grodus gave us, and the picture of Dipper we confiscated from the prisoner, so Vivian, please hand them over to me."

"Um, sis? You said I was too irresponsible to carry those things, so you took them from me." Vivian said.

"Don't be silly, you have them! Now give them to me!" Beldam said. Vivian didn't respond. "Vivian, what are you fondling over there?"

"Oh, this?" Vivian smiled and held up a necklace. "I found it by a tree over there."

"Picking up someone else's trash and ignoring the responsibility of holding onto those pictures?" Beldam yelled. "How inconsiderate! I'll take this has your punishment!" She grabbed the necklace from Vivian and yanked it away. "Now, until you give me the poster and the picture, you will not get this necklace back! Understand me?"

"…yes sis." Vivian said, frowning. The others walked over.

"Um… is everything okay here?" Dipper asked.

"Shut up, hat boy!" Beldam said angrily. "Leave us be, this is none of your business!"

"Okay…" The group continued forward.

:::::

After a bit of walking, the group saw a large tree in the distance with a log shaped pipe leading to it nearby.

"Oh! There it is!" Punio said happily. "That's the Great Tree!" He scurried into the pipe, and the others jumped in after him.

The Great Tree was indeed great; in beauty and in size. The branches atop the tree hung over the forest floor, creating a beautiful view when looking up. The roots stuck out everywhere, and the tree itself had small, serene waterfalls that poured out of its sides. This tree seemed to be alive on its on if it can provide the right kind of heat and cooling temperatures, contain fresh water, and sustain another form of life inside of it. When the gang walked over, Punio sat in front of a red metal door with a red light hanging over it.

"Um… this door wasn't here before." Punio said. "It's locked, so we can't get through, and the secret entrance is of no use…"

"Why can't we use it?" Koops asked.

"Well, you see…" Punio began. "There's this… thing that blocks it. I don't know what it is, but it's some sort of papery, invisible object."

"So how do we move it?" Pacifica asked.

"We need the help of one of my friends, Madame Flurrie." Punio said. "She's the one who cares for all of the Punies, so she can help remove the thing with her powers."

"Let's go find her then." Mario suggested. "She may be our only way of getting inside the tree."

:::::

After a bit of traveling, the gang found Flurrie's House. Along the way, Dipper found a new badge, one that looked like a big, purple hammer. The note attached said the following:

_Quake Hammer. Requires 2 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer can use Quake Hammer, which is a ground based move that hits all ground bound enemies for 2 damage, and can flip over some enemies, like Koopas, on to their backs. 3 FP are required to use this move._

Entering the house, the six heroes found a beautiful decorative foyer, with stairs on each side leading up to the second floor. They all walked up the stairs and a door was against the back wall.

"Well, here it is." Punio said. "Madame Flurrie should be in there."

"Oh?" A feminine voice said from behind the door. "Is that you? Punio?"

"Madame Flurrie?" Punio asked. "We need your help! These guys have taken over the Great Tree, and we need your powers to get inside!"

"Oh, who is this 'we' you speak of?" Flurrie asked.

"This guy named Mario and a boy named Dipper." Punio answered. "So can you please help us?"

"I'd love to help you, sweetie, but alas, I cannot." Flurrie answered.

"What? Why?" Punio was confused.

"My necklace has gone missing, and I simply cannot go anywhere without it." Flurrie answered. "If you can find my necklace and return it to me safely, then I shall help you."

"Alright, Madame Flurrie!" Punio said. "We'll try!"

"I'm pretty sure I know where to find this necklace." Dipper said as the gang left the house. "Back to the entrance of the woods."

:::::

"Ah, here we are!" Beldam pulled out the poster of Mario and the picture of Dipper. "Vivian, you get double punishment for not telling me that I had these!"

"But sis, I-" Vivian began, but was cut off.

"Do you want me to triple your punishment?" Beldam asked.

"No, sis…" Vivian said. Beldam set the two items down, and the sirens gasped.

"These look like Mustache Man and Hat Boy!" Beldam said. "Grrr, we'll never ambush them at this rate!"

:::::

The group dashed to the entrance of the woods, and upon seeing the shadow sirens, they readied themselves.

"You there!" Beldam was the first to notice them. "Mario and Dipper, I presume? Hand over the map and your Crystal Star!"

"Wait, if you want those things…" Dipper gasped. "You guys must work for the X-Nauts!" He took out his staff.

"Of course we do!" Beldam said.

"Who are you punks anyway?" Pacifica asked angrily, taking out her scepter.

"We are…" Beldam began.

"The three…" Marilyn continued, speaking the only eligible words that may ever come out of her mouth.

"Shadow beauties!" Vivian finished.

"Yes! The three shadow- wait…" Beldam turned to Vivian. "Vivian, you dolt! We're the three shadow sirens! Not shadow beauties! I don't see two beauties in front of me, I see one, and then there's you, and you're plug-ugly!"

"Sis…" Vivian stuttered, tears forming in her eyes.

"Shut up, you nincompoop!" Beldam yelled. "Let's take these fools on!"

"Guuuuuuuh!" Marilyn said.

"Yes, sis…" Vivian said. She followed Beldam and Marilyn toward the heroes.

The battle began.

Beldam threw an icy punch at Mario, who in turn took out his hammer to deflect the attack. He swung it and landed a blow on Beldam, then used a Power Jump on Marilyn.

Vivian disappeared into the shadows, then reappeared behind Dipper. She threw a punch and landed a blow on the back of his head. He fell to the ground with a thud, but got back up again and swung his staff, but he missed Vivian and hit Beldam instead.

"Grrr, enough of this!" Beldam held out her hands and an icy wind flew out from her palms, freezing Goombella and Koops.

"C-C-Cold!" Goombella and Koops cried out.

Dipper looked over at Wendy, who was standing in the sidelines of the battle.

"Wendy, we need help!" Dipper called out.

"I don't know what to do!" Wendy replied. Marilyn came over and attempted to shock her with lightning, but she rolled out of the way and landed a punch on Marilyn's head.

"Nice one!" Dipper smiled and held the thumbs up, then proceeded to whack Vivian with his staff. Wendy smiled back and continued her assault on Marilyn.

Vivian managed to dodge a hit from the staff and cast a fire spell, sending Dipper flying backwards on to the ground. He got up and growled.

"Time to finish this!" He held up his staff toward the air as it ignited on fire. It transformed into a glowing red hammer as a fire ball fell from the sky.

"**Fire Drive!**" Dipper smashed the fireball with the hammer and it sent waves of fire at the three sirens, inflicting massive damage and knocking them out. The staff returned to normal and was no longer on fire, and Goombella and Koops were no longer frozen. Dipper smiled.

"Game, set, and match!" They all put their weapons away.

"How could we have been… beaten?!" Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian weakly stood up. "Retreat!" Beldam and Marilyn dashed off. Vivian began to run as well, but dropped the necklace. She took one last look at it before running off with her sisters. Pacifica picked up the necklace.

"Come on, guys." Pacifica said. "Let's get this thing back to Flurrie."

:::::

Once the group arrived at Flurrie's House for the second time, they quickly went upstairs to Flurrie's room.

"Madame Flurrie, we have the necklace!" Punio said.

"Oh, you do?" Flurrie said from behind the door. "Thank you, darling! If you could, may you please leave it in front of the door?"

Pacifica set it in front of the door. It opened up a tiny bit, and the necklace was pulled inside. About 30 seconds later, a disco ball appeared from the ceiling, and the room became pink with the added light. Slow, romantic music began to play as the door to Flurrie's room opened. Out stepped a blue wind spirit with green earrings and a golden necklace.

"Oh, are you the one who helped get my necklace back?" She took note of Dipper, who stood in front of her. He began sweating and blushing. She puckered her lips and moved toward him, preparing to kiss him. He jumped out of the way, and Flurrie landed a kiss on Mario's cheek. Mario blushed heavily.

"Oh my, thank you so much, you handsome man, you." Flurrie stepped away from Mario. The girls chuckled.

"Well, let's get back to the Great Tree now." Wendy said. "I bet with Flurrie's powers, we can get inside."

"Then let's go." Dipper said. His blushing had died down.

They all left the home with Flurrie as a new addition to the group, changing the total number of heroes from six to seven. As they went toward the Great Tree, they were ready to help the Punies however they could.

:::::

"I can't believe this is happening." The light-gray Puni Petuni said to herself. "Big brother's gone, and these strange X-Naut freaks took over the tree." A Puni scuttled over to her.

"You okay, Petuni?" It asked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." Petuni replied.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of here?" The Puni asked.

"To be honest…" Petuni began. "I have no idea."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Well, the page this chapter ended on was Page 103, so this has already become the longest story I've ever written. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	12. Chapter 2 - Part 3: Inside The Tree

**Hello, chaps and mates! 087-B here again with a new chapter! I've been writing a lot more lately, haven't I?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree - Part 3 - Inside The Tree_

The seven heroes returned to the Great Tree in little time. Punio led Flurrie up a root toward an area above the metallic door. The others watched as Flurrie began to blow a massive gust of wind, blowing the 'thing' away and revealing a small little hole with a massive sign over it with the words SECRET ENTRANCE on it. Punio scurried inside, and in a few moments, the red light above the door changed to green. It opened and Punio came out.

"Ta-da!" Punio said. The others smiled and clapped.

"Well, we can get inside now." Mario said.

They all entered the tree. The ground was black with a brown-white vine pattern all over it, and white bushes sprouted in some places. Some statues sat in the middle with symbols on them and Puni sculptures on top.

"Huh… where is everyone?" Punio asked. Then, a door on the other side of the room opened, and two X-Nauts stepped out.

"It's Mario! And his gang of losers!" One of the X-Nauts shouted.

"We should report this to Lord Crump straight away!" The other one said.

"No way! If we finish him off right here, we're sure to get a huge reward!" The first one shouted. They rushed the group.

"Take THIS!" Pacifica twirled her scepter around and smacked one X-Naut in the head, making it dizzy and causing it to stumble around.

Goombella used a headbonk on the dazed X-Naut, and Koops finished it off with a power shell, hitting the second X-Naut as well. Wendy landed an uppercut on the second X-Naut, but it countered by body slamming Wendy. She fell to the ground.

"Wendy!" Dipper called out. He activated Power Smash and smacked the X-Naut, sending it flying. When it landed on the ground, it was badly beaten.

"F-Forget this…" It stuttered, weakly standing up. The other one ran out of the room through the door it came in from. "W-We'll just h-hinder your p-progress and report this to C-Crump…" The wobbly X-Naut stumbled through the door and shut it. The light above it changed from green to red, indicating it was now locked.

"Well, drat." Wendy said. "Now what do we do?" Punio noticed a Puni pop out from behind one of the statues.

"Whoa! Who's that?" Punio scurried behind the statues, and in moments, 10 more punies scurried out along with Punio.

"Wow, come of you guys are okay!" Punio cheered.

"Well look who it is!" A rather larger, overweight Punio scuttled over to Punio, having an orange ball sticking out of its head. "It's the coward Punio who ran away!"

"Puniper!" Punio said angrily. "I didn't run away, I went to find help! Look!" Punio gestured to Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy.

"Who cares! We can't trust these guys!" Puniper said.

"How did you guys get out anyway?" Punio asked.

"While those X-Naut freaks, or whatever they're called, led us to the cells," Puniper began. "I shoved one of the others in the way to trip a guard, then we made a break for it."

"Puniper, you jerk! You sacrificed one of our friends to save your own life?!" Punio was in shock and disbelief. "That's just cold!"

"Well I'm still proud of my choice." Puniper said.

"Where are the others?" Punio asked.

"Locked in some cages in the other chamber." Puniper answered.

"Then help us free them!" Punio said. "We'll need all the help we can get if we want to overthrow the X-Naut army!"

"Nuh-uh, no way." Puniper said. "I'll tell you what, if you can free the elder and the rest of the Punies from there cages, then we'll join this 'revolution' of yours."

"Alright then, we have a deal." Punio said. Then the 9 other normal Punies scurried behind the statues to hide along with Puniper. Punio turned to the 7 heroes.

"What now?" Pacifica asked.

"Well, there's a pipe over here." Punio led the group to a log pipe near the locked door the X-Nauts retreated to moments earlier. "If we go up here, we might find the cage the other Punies are held in."

"Okay then, here we go!" Dipper slid inside the pipe, followed by Punio, Mario, Pacifica, Wendy, Goombella, Koops, then finally Flurrie.

:::::

The heroes and Punio jumped out of a pipe and landed in another chamber, this one having a large red cage and a separate large blue cage in the back wall. As soon as they all exited the pipe, Punio ran over to the red cage. Inside was an older looking Punio with a purple ball coming out of its head, as well as wearing a small black robe.

"Elder!" Punio said. "You're okay!"

"Is that you Punio?" The Elder slowly scuttled to the bars of the cage.

"Elder, I got help and came here to rescue you!" Punio said.

"Ah, that's nice. Thank you Punio." The Elder said.

"Where are the others?" Punio asked.

"The others? Let's see…" The Elder began mumbling to herself.

"P-Punio?!" A voice called out in disbelief. Punio recognized the voice and scurried over to the blue cage, seeing Petuni and at least 99 other Punies inside.

"Petuni! You're safe!" Punio said happily. "I've brought help, and I'm going to save you guys!"

"Thank you Punio! It's good to see you showing your care for our species!" Petuni noticed the 7 heroes, particularly Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy. "Wow, you three look like the one we found!"

"Huh?" Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy were all equally confused. What did Petuni mean by 'the one they found'?

"…Dipper?" A voice asked. Dipper squinted his eyes. Against the back wall of the cage was a figure that slowly stood up, covered in the shadows. It stepped forward slowly, letting the light reveal its face. Dipper's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Candy?!" Dipper shouted. "You're here too?!"

"It is so good to see someone I know!" Candy happily walked over to the bars of the blue cage. "What is this place?"

"It's called the Great Tree, and its currently being invaded." Dipper explained. "There's a lot more to it, but I'll have to explain later. For now, we have to find the keys to these cages and get everyone out of here."

"I understand." Candy noticed Pacifica and narrowed her eyes. Pacifica noticed.

"Hey hey hey, I'm a hero here." Pacifica tried to defend herself.

"Are you sure I can trust you?" Candy asked.

"Yeah, I've changed." Pacifica said. "I'm sorry for how I treated you before, Candy." Candy smiled.

"I trust you, Pacifica." Candy said. "Is anybody else with you?"

"No, actually." Wendy answered. "You're the latest person we've found."

"Okay." Candy said. "You go on and find the keys you need, I shall await your return right here." She sat down in the cage.

"Okay Candy, we'll be back for you and the Punies!" Dipper smiled and walked off into a room on his left, followed by the others.

'I cannot believe I am surrounded by Punies!' Candy thought in her mind. 'Who knew such legendary creatures were real!'

:::::

Entering the next room, they all saw an unconscious X-Naut lying on the ground in the middle of the room.

"Whoa… someone's been in here." Dipper said. Then, Ms Mowz jumped out of a bush nearby.

"Ah, we meet again, Mr. Mustache and Hat Boy." Ms Mowz said deviously.

"M-Ms Mowz!" Dipper blushed a little. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? I came here in search of treasure, but I've found something much more interesting." Ms Mowz answered. "I assume you're all here looking for the Crystal Star?"

"How did you know a Crystal Star was here?" Mario asked.

"A thief simply has to know where treasure is, no matter where they are." Ms Mowz answered. "I'll give you some information on the location of the Crystal Star, however, as it is of no use to me."

"So you know where it is?" Goombella asked.

"Indeed." Ms Mowz replied. "The Crystal Star is held deep within the tree, down at the very bottom, but that's all I know." She slowly walked over to the group, then kissed Dipper and Mario's cheeks. "We shall soon meet again…"

"Geez, what a flirt!" Goombella said annoyed. Then Ms Mowz jumped onto a box, then jumped into a hole and out of the tree. Dipper and Mario blushed hard, their faces turning red.

"You dog!" Wendy chuckled and punched Dipper's shoulder playfully. "You're getting all the ladies!"

"Heh heh, yeah…" Dipper sheepishly chuckled, blushing harder. His blushing faded, along with Mario's, as soon as the unconscious X-Naut began to stir. It jumped up and looked around before noticing the group.

"Ah-ha! It was you who knocked me out, wasn't it?!" The X-Naut was about to continue before Mario smack it in the head with a hammer, sending it flying out of the tree through the hole Ms Mowz came in from.

"Well, look what he dropped!" Dipper smiled and picked up a red key. "We can free the Puni Elder now!"

"That's great!" Punio said. "Let's go!" He scurried back toward the red cage followed by Mario, Dipper, Goombella, Pacifica, Koops, Wendy, and Flurrie. Dipper shoved the red key into the lock on the door of the cage and twisted, pulling open the large red door, then they all entered the open cage.

"Elder! You're free now!" Punio said happily as he entered the cage.

"SILENCE!" The Puni Elder shouted, startling everyone in the cage. "Punio, you cowardice! You fled instead of trying to save your fellow kind!"

"No, you don't understand, Elder!" Punio said. "I went to get help! I didn't run away!"

"How dare you interrupt your elders!" The Elder shouted. "Now, let me explain why you shouldn't interrupt and why you shouldn't have ran away…"

**-{Two Hours Later}-**

"…and that is why you must not run away." The Elder finished her explanation, with everyone else asleep and only her and Punio awake.

"Now!" The Elder shouted, waking everyone up. "What were you going to say, Punio?"

"I was trying to tell you, Elder," Punio began. "That I brought help to save you and the rest of the Punies!" He gestured to the seven heroes behind him.

"Ah, I see." The Elder simply said. "Well then, let's not waste anymore time." She scurried out of the cage and down the log pipe nearby, followed by Punio, Flurrie, Wendy, Koops, Goombella, Pacifica, and Mario. Dipper approached the pipe.

"These Punies are strange…" he began. "But they're the key to finding the second Crystal Star." And with that, he jumped down the pipe to meet up with the rest of the group.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Whew, this chapter took a while to write! I hope you liked it! Also, the group has found Candy! What role will she play? A hero, why wouldn't she be? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	13. Chapter 2 - Part 4: Revolution

**Hey guys, 087-B here with a new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door! In the last chapter, the gang entered the Great Tree, found Candy, and freed the Puni Elder! What will happen in this chapter? Read on and find out!**

**It will be hard to write the later portions of the Boggly Woods arc considering that it will be mostly puzzles and such, which would be very difficult to write out in a story, so I'll skip over them. Maybe the arc will end next chapter? Who knows.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree - Part 4 - The Start Of A Revolution_

The seven heroes, Punio, and the Puni Elder returned to the main chamber of the Great Tree. In the middle of the chamber was Puniper, who was waiting for them.

"Well, you managed to free the Elder, I'll give you props for that." Puniper said. "But you didn't free the rest of the Punies, so the deal is off. We aren't joining your revolution or anything like that."

"SUCH INSOLENCE!" The Elder shouted, startling everyone, even Puniper.

"Huh? What do you mean, Elder?" Puniper asked with a trembling voice.

"Do you not see, Puniper?" The Elder was furious. "Punio risked his life going out into the open world to gather help, and he managed to rescue me, and he swore to some back for the others once they get the key! That takes courage! And if you cannot appreciate it, then you are nothing but a helpless hog who favors ignorance!"

"O-Okay Elder, I get it." Puniper said, his voice shaking a little. "Okay, we'll join the group for now, but you gotta make sure you free the rest of the Punies, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Punio said.

"Still, our chances of victory are pretty slim." Puniper said. "We've barely been able to do anything about this invasion ever since those X-Naut freaks caged some of our best warriors and joined forces with the Jabbies!"

"Jabbies?" Dipper was confused. "What are those?"

"Little winged creatures that aren't much bigger than the Punies." Punio answered. "We were once allies with them, but we haven't seen them since the invasion happened."

"I hope you guys become allies again once this is over." Koops said.

"Thanks." Punio said. They all began walking off before the Elder stopped them.

"WAIT!" The Elder shouted. Everyone was startled again, and the seven heroes tripped and fell to the floor. "There is something very important I need to give you!"

"What is it, Elder?" Dipper asked, standing up and wiping dirt off of his clothes, although most of that dirt was probably from his previous adventures in this world. The Elder held out an orange orb that resembled the sun.

"This is the Puni Orb, it is a symbol of our ancestry." The Elder said. "Take it, you may need it." Mario took it and put it away.

"What may we need it for?" Mario asked.

"There are multiple shines throughout this tree with indents in them." The Elder explained. "If you put the Puni Orb in said indent, then the Punies you have will flock to it if they can get to it." The others nodded and walked off, returning into the log pipe nearby to hopefully make progress in the tree.

:::::

The group entered a small chamber that was a narrow path that hung high above another floor below, and said path had many twists and turns. On the wall near the pipe and on the far right wall were two entrances.

"Which way do we go?" Goombella asked. "Should we split up?"

"No, I think we should all go one way." Dipper said. "Like Punio said, the X-Nauts teamed up with these Jabbi guys, and we don't know how much of a threat they could be."

"Good point." Mario said. "Let's prepare ourselves." He took out his hammer.

"Right." Dipper took out his staff and Pacifica took out her scepter.

They all entered through the entrance closest to them, and once inside, they found themselves in a large, long chamber with a hive like structure on the back wall with red flashing lights on it. All of a sudden, a siren started blaring, and out from the hive emerged 10 little black bird looking creatures with gray beaks and wings.

"It's a 10-Jabbie Squadron!" Punio said. "Come on, guys! We can beat them! CHARGE!" All of the Punies rushed into battle, followed by the 7 heroes, knocking the Jabbies left and right until they were all down for the count.

"Wow, we did it!" Punio cheered. "Quickly, let's destroy this thing!"

All of the Punies rushed inside as the room rumbled and shook before the hive-like structure exploded into bits, now revealing an entrance that the 7 heroes could get through. Walking inside, the group found themselves in a slightly smaller chamber with a lower area and a chest in the middle, as well as some strange statues with symbols on them.

"Whoa, weird statues." Wendy said. "What do you think they mean?"

"I don't know, but they're probably from ancient Puni lore." Dipper said. He jumped off of a ledge and walked over to the chest. He opened it and inside was a blue key.

"Ah-ha!" Dipper smiled and held up the blue key. "We found it!"

"Now we can free the rest of the Punies!" Punio said happily.

"And we can rescue our friend!" Pacifica pointed out. "Let's hurry back there!"

:::::

"…and they'll never come back and that's that and what's gonna happen to us and…" A Puni in the blue cage was stopping its story that it was telling Petuni. "Hey, by the way… what's that thing you've been holding on to so tightly, Petuni?"

"It's a mushroom…" Petuni said, showing a mushroom that appeared to have all of the life sucked out of it, called a Dried Shroom.

"Oh. Not to be, you know, rude, but it looks all dry and wrinkly and gross." The Puni said. Petuni put the Mushroom away.

"Yeah, yeah, I know… I picked it so I could give it to my brother to eat." Petuni said. "But then I got captured and stuck in here, and after a few days it dried out…"

"Oh, really? Great story." The Puni said sarcastically. "Anyway, don't worry so much. All my complaining aside, I'm sure Punio and those others will return."

Just then, the group emerged from the pipe nearby. Dipper walked over to the door of the blue cage and stuck the blue key inside of the lock on the door. He turned it and pulled the door open with some force, freeing all of Punies as well as Candy. They all rushed out.

"Ah, thank you Dipper!" Candy said, giving a hug to Dipper, making him smile sheepishly and blush a little. Candy pulled away from the hug. "Now all you have to do is tell me what this place is. Where exactly are we?"

"I'll explain it to ya, come on." Dipper and Candy excused themselves from the group as they sat down nearby. "Okay, this is kinda long-winded, so are you ready?"

"I'm ready." Candy said.

"Okay…" Dipper took a breath before starting. "You see, me and Mabel found this strange pipe in the Gravity Falls forest, and it sucked me and Mabel and everyone from Gravity Falls into it. Me and Pacifica woke up on a raft in the middle of an ocean, but in a whole new world called the Mushroom Kingdom, and we ended up in a port town called Rogueport. There, we met this man named Mario-" He gestured to Mario. "-and Pacifica and I joined up along with him and Goombella-" He gestured to Goombella. "-to find her university professor. Once we did, we discovered this legendary place called The Thousand-Year Door that requires seven gems called the Crystal Stars to open. We all went off to search for them and found one Crystal Star and Wendy along the way. Now we're here in this place called the Great Tree in search of the second Crystal Star, as well as trying to help the Punies fight against the X-Nauts, an evil organization that wants to find the Crystal Stars and use them for evil purposes." Candy stared blankly as soon as Dipper finished.

"…I think I understand." Candy responded after a moment.

"You sure?" Dipper asked. Candy nodded. "So do you want to join us in our battle against the X-Nauts and find the Crystal Stars?"

"Will we get back home?" Candy asked.

"Maybe, but we just have to wait and see!" Dipper said. Candy smiled.

"Then I would very much like to join you in your quest!" She said.

"That's great!" Dipper said. "Come on, let's regroup." They walked back over to the group.

"Well, we've freed all of the Punies and my sister is safe!" Punio said happily.

"What do we do now?" Koops asked.

"Well, if there was a 10-Jabbi squadron, then there's sure to be a 100-Jabbi squadron!" Dipper said. "The X-Nauts would put a weak team and a strong team together. So, with 101 Punies and 8 others, making 109 fighters, we might be able to beat them!"

"Wow, talk about smart." Pacifica muttered.

:::::

They all made their way back to the long narrow overhang-like curved path, but this time went towards the right wall towards the second entrance. Going inside, they found themselves in another Jabbi Fortress chamber, but this time, 100 Jabbies emerged from the hive structure.

"You were right Dipper, it's a 100-Jabbi squadron!" Punio said. "Come on guys! Let's get 'em! CHARGE!" All of the Punies and the 8 heroes rushed the group of Jabbies, constantly attacking without giving in. Eventually, all of the Jabbies were knocked out, landing a success for the group.

"We… we did it?" Punio asked. "It's over? I can't believe we won!"

All of the Punies rushed into the hive structure. Then the room began to shake, and in moments, the structure exploded, revealing an entrance. All of the heroes walked inside. They went down a pipe and continued on for a while before coming into a small room with a pedestal in the middle of the room and an indent inside. Dipper was about to put the Puni Orb inside but Candy stopped him.

"What is it, Candy?" Dipper asked.

"This is a trap, the markings are not correct." Candy said.

"How would you…?" Dipper was confused at Candy's sudden knowledge of the Puni lore.

"In my home country, Punies are considered mythical creatures." Candy said. "I've studied them enough to know that this is a trap."

"It can't be, why else would it be here?" Dipper placed the Puni Orb inside of the indent.

"No no no NO!" Candy's eyes widened as the room began to shake. "Run!" A large cage began to fall from the ceiling.

"Whoa!" Dipper panicked and made a break for it, but the cage slammed into the ground, one bar crushing his right ankle. "AUGH!" He fell back and clutched his leg as his ankle throbbed in pain, the blood dripping on to the ground.

"Dipper!" Mario grabbed and began to pull Dipper inside the cage.

"AUGH!" Dipper screamed in pain as his leg was still trapped. One more tug and it came free, but not in the way you'd expect. The ligaments and bones tore and broke, the skin snapping. His foot came detached as his leg began bleeding heavily.

"Whoa!" Pacifica pulled out rags and began covering the wound. "You didn't have to yank his foot off, Mario!"

"Well sorry! I was only trying to free him!" Mario also tried to tend to the wound, along with everyone else, even the Punies. Meanwhile, Dipper was frantically gasping for air, his vision shifting from clear to blurry constantly, and trying to not lose consciousness was slowly not becoming an option.

"G-GOD!" Dipper screamed.

"Just hang in there, lad!" Flurrie said. Then, Lord Crump and two X-Nauts appeared in front of the cage.

"I knew it!" Lord Crump snorted. "You guys were stupid enough to fall for my fake pedestal gag!"

"Lord Crump!" Goombella shouted angrily. "It's cause of you Dipper lost a foot!"

"Huh?" Lord Crump noticed the detached foot near his feet. "Whoa… talk about a bonus!"

"What do you mean a bonus?!" Wendy yelled. "This is a serious injury! He needs a doctor! A prosthetic foot!"

"So? Not my problem." Lord Crump scoffed. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be off." He walked away with the two X-Nauts following close behind him.

"So… what now?" Pacifica asked.

"Someone needs to slip through these bars and find a way out of here." Mario said. "A doctor will also prove useful." Pacifica flipped herself into paper and walked through the bars.

"I'll be back." She said, sprinting off toward a nearby pipe and jumping into it, going downward.

"He's out cold." Koops said, looking at Dipper's unconscious body.

"Are you sure? He looks dead." Goombella said, padding up the wound more.

"Only time will tell if he survives…" Candy said glumly.

:::::

Pacifica exited the pipe in a lower level and found a white switch. She pressed it, and the whole tree began to rumble, causing something to happen in a different part of the tree. She then noticed four statues lining the back wall with pictures on them: A picture of the sun, a picture of the moon, a picture of a Puni, and a picture of a star in that order.

"These look like the statues all the way back where the blue key was…" Pacifica put two and two together. "I think I know where to go next."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**God, Dipper got his foot detached from his leg! Will he survive? What will happen? Will he be able to take down Lord Crump with such an injury? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	14. Chapter 2 - End: Taking Back The Tree

**Hello mates, chaps, and all alike, 087-B here, bringing you a new chapter of this story! I've been hoping to get to this point, as I do like the Chapter 2 Arc, but it sadly comes to an end in this chapter. For those who don't remember, but most of you honestly do, Dipper lost his right foot in the last chapter, and is in desperate need of medical care. Pacifica volunteered to go out and find a doctor and an escape route, and that is where we left off…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree - Part 5 - Taking Back The Tree_

Pacifica made her way back to where the group found the blue key, and now 4 white switched were inside the room, resting in front of the strange statues. She hopped down and walked over to the switches.

"Wait a second, these statues…" She remembered the pattern she saw in the other chamber. "It must be a pattern." Pacifica pressed each switch until the statues were in the order that she had seen before. The room began to shake as the switches disappeared and the statues… began to roll up like paper and fade away, revealing an entrance.

"Talk about weird." Pacifica walked through the entrance and found herself in a chamber that had a large treasure chest inside. "Whoa…" She opened the chest and pulled out a pair of light blue boots. "…I came all the way back here for boots?!" She mumbled something to herself and took the boots with her anyway. "Now I just need to find a doctor."

:::::

"How's he looking?" Goombella asked.

"Not good, he hasn't woken up at all." Mario said. "Wendy, can you take over?"

"Why do you need me?" Wendy asked.

"I'm going to go and find Pacifica." Mario said. "And I'm taking Candy with me."

"So you want me to keep Dipper from dieing?" Wendy asked. Mario nodded. "I can do that."

"Good." Mario stood up and grabbed Candy's wrist.

"Wait, what are you-" Candy was cut off as she and Mario were now as flat as paper. They both walked through the bars of the cage and returned to normal. "How did you-" 

"Long story." Mario said. The two sprinted off to find Pacifica.

"Um, Wendy?" Punio got the teenage girl's attention.

"Yeah Punio?" Wendy said.

"How can I say this…" Punio hesitated a bit. "…Dipper's in a coma."

"What?!" Koops trembled a little as he began hyperventilating.

"Oh man, he could die!" Goombella said.

"What do we do?" Wendy asked.

"All we can do for now is wait." Punio said.

:::::

Pacifica sprinted across the narrow walkway, heading back towards the chamber containing the cage that her friends were trapped in. As she sprinted, she took a misstep and slipped, fall off of the path… but she was quickly saved by something. Looking up, she saw a hand holding onto her wrist, and the hand belonged to Candy. She pulled her up.

"Thanks Candy." Pacifica said.

"No problem, friend." Candy said. Mario noticed the boots.

"Wow, a pair of Deluxe 2004 Super Boots!" He said in excitement, grabbing the boots. "These are rare, and expensive!"

"You can have them." Pacifica said. "Honestly, I don't know what they do or why anyone would wear them." Mario slipped off his current boots and put on the Super Boots.

"A pair of Super Boots are stronger than the average pair of boots!" He said. "They deal more damage, they are more light in weight, and they allow you to do this!" Mario jumped up into the air, did a mid-air somersault, then slammed down on to the ground. This technique was called a Spin Jump.

"We might be able to use that pair of boots to break our friends and the Punies out of the cage!" Candy said. "I saw a wooden board in there that looked pretty weak! We might be able to smash through it!"

"But how will that help?" Mario asked.

"There's a chamber below the cage." Pacifica said. "If we break through that board, we can get them all down there and escape."

"Then that is our plan." Candy said.

"How's Dipper doing?" Pacifica asked.

"Not good." Mario said. "But he isn't dead, so we just have to find a doctor, or some safe place for him to stay."

"Then what do we do next?" Candy asked.

"I'll ask the elder about a doctor, if there is one." Pacifica said. "Meanwhile, you two go back and free the others, then try and find that Crystal Star. I'll meet up with you later."

"Okay, Pacifica." Mario said, and he and Candy sprinted back toward the cage, with Pacifica sliding into a pipe to go back to find the Puni Elder.

Mario and Candy entered the cage chamber, flipped to paper, and entered the cage. Mario did a Spin Jump on the wooden board and smashed it into pieces, creating a hole that they all jumped down, Wendy holding onto Dipper's unconscious body.

"Well, the Punies are free now." Mario said.

"And so are we!" Goombella said. "Great job, guys! Now let's go find that Crystal Star!"

:::::

The gang had entered another chamber, the largest chamber yet. It was a giant octagon-shaped room, with Puni statues surrounding it against the walls. One in the center of the back wall had a large half-circle on top of it, filled with water, and in the middle of the room was a hexagon-shaped panel with a pedestal nearby, an indent for the Puni Orb inside.

"Do you think this is where the Crystal Star is?" Wendy asked.

"Looks like it." Koops said. "I mean, fancy things are usually in fancy places."

"I think we need to place the Puni Orb inside of this pedestal." Candy said, walking over to the pedestal. She placed the Puni Orb inside of the pedestal, and the whole room began to shake violently. Actually, the whole tree shook violently, startling almost every living thing inside. Then, it stopped, and a sparkling noise was heard. Looking up, the gang saw a spinning, shimmering, green Crystal Star emerge from the pool of water in the half-circle. It floated down toward the ground and hovered in the air, still rotating in constant 360 degree circles.

"We found it!" Goombella cheered.

"You mean that is this 'Crystal Star' thing you have been looking for?" Candy asked.

"Yep, that's the one!" Koops said. "Now let's go grab it before-" He was cut off as Lord Crump dashed toward the Crystal Star, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He jumped up and grabbed it.

"Lord Crump! Not you again!" Mario said angrily.

"Who?" Wendy and Candy asked in unison.

"He's this jerk who works for the X-Nauts!" Goombella said. "Give us back the Crystal Star, Crump!"

"You mean this is yours?" Lord Crump asked sarcastically. "I don't think so, it's mine now."

"It's 107 against 1, Crump!" Wendy said angrily. "We can easily take you down!"

"Who said I was gonna fight ya?" Lord Crump pulled out a small silver box-shaped remote with a big red button on it. "I'm just gonna leave ya here with a REMOTE-TIME BOMB DETONATOR!" He pushed the button, and the tree began to shake. "This whole tree will blow up with all of you twerps inside of it in 3 minutes!" He punched the ground and a pipe appeared. "See ya, suckers!" Crump entered the pipe, leaving the heroes and the Punies behind.

"We have to be quick if we want to get out in time!" Candy said. They all entered the pipe and went up. They continued to run, chamber through chamber, until they reached the entrance room. Lord Crump was harassing Pacifica and the Puni Elder, who were trying to block Crump from escaping.

"You aren't leaving, Lord Crump!" Pacifica shouted angrily. "Now hand over the Crystal Star and you won't feel any pain!" She took out her scepter.

"Move out of the way, hags!" Lord Crump commanded.

"HAGS?!" The two of them shouted at the same time. They continued to yell in unison. "I'll have you know that you yourself are no handsome man! We are of utmost beauty and you have no right to call us hags!"

"Geez, I'll leave you two to your hissy fits." Lord Crump turned to run but was cornered by the heroes and the Punies.

"Give it up, Crump! You're cornered!" Candy shouted.

"Fine!" Crump took out the remote and pressed the red button again, and the shaking stopped. "I ain't giving up that easily!"

"What're you gonna do now?" Pacifica asked sarcastically. "It's 109 against only you!"

"Quit using numbers!" Lord Crump shouted. "Try THIS on for size!" He took out another remote that looked like the previous one and clicked the button. A sphere hovered over to him, hovering over his head. The bottom half was made of some kind of red metal, and the top half was made of glass. Lord Crump jumped up inside of it. Then, metallic plates shot out of its sides, creating an 'X' shape.

"Awaken Magnus Von Grapple!" Lord Crump said. The X's shifted to create a box shape and two arms extended from its sides, and two legs extended from its bottom. A large white X appeared on the front as the sphere Lord Crump was in lowered into the top, completing the robot.

"Whoa, that thing is huge!" Koops said.

"Dipper hasn't woken up, he's in no state to fight!" Wendy said.

"Over here!" The Puni Elder gestured to a small alcove behind the statues. Wendy sprinted over and placed Dipper's limp body inside. "He shall be safe in here."

"We must defeat him in order to save the Punies and regain the tree, as well as the Crystal Star!" Candy said.

"Here-we-go!" Mario said as he jumped up and smacked Magnus Von Grapple with his hammer, but the blow barely dented it. In retaliation, Magnus smacked Mario into the ground with its arms, then stomped on him with its foot.

"Leave Mario alone!" Koops shot a shell toss at Magnus' leg, but didn't deal any damage whatsoever, only stunning the robot and giving Mario time to sprint away. Flurrie flew over and tried to attack, but was smacked away by the arm of the robot.

Wendy dashed over and began punching the ankles of the robot, only to wince in pain. Magnus kicked her away, and she landed near the Puni Elder.

"How do I fight this thing?" Wendy asked herself.

"Here, take this." The Puni Elder gave a badge to Wendy. She took it and looked at the note attached.

_Power Plus. Requires 6 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer gets unspeakable powers they can use in battle. Raises attack power greatly._

"How will this help?" Wendy asked, pinning it on her shirt.

"You'll see, my dear." The Puni Elder said. "Now go and fight for the sake of this tree!"

Wendy got up and sprinted toward Magnus. She readied a punch, but before she could make contact, a red, transparent fist appeared behind her. Shocked, she threw the punch early, but as she did, the red fist went soaring towards Magnus, making contact and knocking it over.

"Whoa!" Wendy was surprised at this strange badge and its power. "Take this!" She threw multiple punches, all with red transparent fists appearing, each one making contact and heavily damaging the upper body of the large robot.

"Way to go, Wendy!" Candy cheered. She noticed the Diamond Star nearby. Where did THAT come from? She picked it up, curious. "What is this?"

"That's the first Crystal Star we found!" Goombella said. "I wonder what power is inside." She launched a headbonk, but Magnus countered by smacking her with its arms. Candy stared long and hard at the Diamond Star, trying to figure out what it was or what it did. Then, she realized how to use its power and held it up in the air.

"**Earth Tremor!**" Candy jumped up and slammed the Diamond Star into the ground, creating a massive fissure that shot straight for the crippled robot. It made contact, and the power made the robot explode into pieces, sending Lord Crump flying, landing on the ground, moaning in agony.

The battle was won.

:::::

Lord Crump weakly got up and looked around. All of the heroes and the Punies stared at him angrily.

"Uh… Crump away!" Lord Crump dashed out of the tree, followed by the many X-Nauts. When they all fled, the green Crystal Star lay on the ground.

"Well, thank you all very much for this." The Puni Elder said. "You have rid us of the X-Nauts for good, and you have rescued another of your friends."

"It was nothing, Elder." Pacifica said, showing the thumbs up.

"Now, I understand this is what you were looking for?" The Elder gestured over to the Crystal Star.

"Indeed, that it was we needed to find." Mario said. Wendy walked over and picked up Dipper's body.

"He's still out cold." She said. "If he had been awake, that fight would've been so much faster."

"How?" Candy asked.

"You should have seen him back at the castle." Wendy said. "Man, he's a total powerhouse now."

"Candy, since you seem to know the most about the Punies…" Goombella said.

"And you dealt the finishing blow…" Flurrie said.

"I have the honors?" Candy asked. They all nodded. Candy smiled and walked over to the green Crystal Star. It hovered and spun around her before hovering over her. She held up her hands and grabbed it as all of the others clapped for her.

They had gotten their second Crystal Star.

**-{****End Of Chapter 2****}-**

**The Boggly Woods arc is now complete!**

**Mario and friends joined up with the Punies and successfully bested the X-Nauts, destroying Lord Crump's powerful robot, Magnus Von Grapple! Although Dipper lost his foot, he still has a smidgen of life on him! Will he live? Only time will tell.**

**Now, with Candy on the team and the second Crystal Star in hand, Mario and the others continue their quest to collect the remaining five. However, many of their friends are still lost. But alas, they must worry about getting back to The Thousand-Year Door with the Crystal Star still intact. Where are the rest of their friends? Are Mabel and Princess Peach okay? These questions will be answered as the adventure continues…**

**Save all story progress up to this point?**

**Saving, do not press the power button on your laptop or home button on your mobile device…**

**Your progress has been saved.**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	15. Chapter 2 - Interlude

**Hello everyone, 087-B here! I have a new chapter of this story up! Once I get this chapter done and the next chapter done, I can finally start writing the Chapter 3 arc, and that's one of my favorite arcs! We haven't seen Peach or Mabel in some time, so let's check on them right now, shall we?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 2 Interlude - Dance Party_

"What?" Grodus was shocked. "What do you mean you lost?"

"Uh, sir, what I'm saying is, Mario and his gang pierced our defenses." An X-Naut said. "He beat us, destroyed Magnus Von Grapple, and took the Crystal Star for himself."

"He beat the Shadow Sirens, even?" Grodus asked. The X-Naut nodded. "…fine, off with you."

"Uh, yes sir, Grodus dude, sir Grodus, sir." The X-Naut said. It saluted Grodus, then left the room.

"I loathe you all." Grodus said to himself.

:::::

Mabel groggily dragged herself out of the metallic bed. Once again, she couldn't sleep. She checked the clock. It read four in the morning. Sighing, she saw Peach sitting at a table on the other side of the room. She got up and walked over.

"Good morning, Mabel." Peach greeted with a small smile.

"Morning, Peach." Mabel sat in a chair and returned the greeting. "I wonder if TEC will call us in today."

"I wonder why he's helping us." Peach said. "It's obvious that he's sided with the X-Nauts."

"Maybe he isn't?" Mabel suggested. "Although he's a computer, so he's coded to side with the X-Nauts…" Just then, the door to their room opened.

"Must be TEC again." Peach said. "Let's go, we shouldn't keep him waiting." They both walked through the door and down the all. They entered TEC's room, and TEC immediately took note of their presence.

[Ah. Hello, Princess Peach. Hello, Mabel Pines. Good morning to both of you.] TEC greeted.

"Morning, TEC." Mabel returned the greeting. "How'd ya sleep?"

[As I am a computer, I lack the need for sleep.] TEC said. [I simply shut down for the night.]

"So, TEC, it's obvious you called us both in here for a reason." Peach said. "Why did you?"

[I have some news to inform of to the both of you.] TEC said. [Said news regards Mario and Dipper and their quest.]

"Really? What news?" Peach asked.

"Wait, an adventure?" Mabel asked. "Nobody ever said anything about that."

[Please, allow me to explain…] TEC explained the adventure at hand for Mario, Dipper, and the others.

"Okay… I think I get it." Mabel said. "So what news do you have?"

[The heroes have found a new teammate. You might know this person, Mabel.] TEC showed a picture of Candy on his screen.

"They found Candy?!" Mabel asked in disbelief.

[Yes, they have.] TEC said. [This is the current group.] Multiple pictures appeared on the screen. They showed Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, Candy, Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie.

"They have Pacifica? Weird." Mabel said.

"How is that weird?" Peach asked.

"Pacifica is, as she calls herself, the most popular girl in Gravity Falls." Mabel said. "She can be a real jerk, so I wonder why she's in the group. She probably doesn't even do anything."

[Quite the contrary, Mabel.] TEC said. A video began rolling, showing a montage of Pacifica fighting off various enemies, including Goombas, Koopas, Fuzzies, Pale Piranhas, and Clefts.

"She's actually doing stuff?" Mabel was surprised. "Wow, this world changes people."

[Now, I have additional, much bigger news.] TEC said. [Would you like to hear it?]

"Yes, I need to know." Peach said.

"Sure, why not?" Mabel said.

[Okay, brace yourselves.] TEC said. [Mario and the others were able to save the Great Tree and recover the second Crystal Star, the Emerald Star.]

"That's great news!" Mabel said happily.

"Indeed!" Peach agreed.

[However, earlier in the adventure there, Dipper suffered a large injury.] TEC said. Mabel's eyes widened. [He lost a foot, and fell into a coma due to major amounts of blood loss.]

"…wh-what?!" Mabel stuttered and shook in fear, beginning to hyperventilate.

[Do not worry, he is still alive.] TEC said. [He is sure to make a full recovery once he is treated.] Mabel simply stared.

"…oh…" Mabel stared at the ground before looking up with a smile. "Of course he'll recover! He's strong!"

"I have faith in him, then." Peach said.

"So, with two out of seven Crystal Stars, where do they go next?" Mabel asked.

[Unfortunately, I cannot answer that.] TEC said. [They have not yet returned to the Thousand-Year Door to reveal the location of the third Crystal Star.]

"Well, where are they now?" Peach asked.

[They are finishing up in the Great Tree.] TEC answered. [Now, may I tell you why I have called you two here?]

"You may TEC, go ahead." Peach said.

[The reason I have called you two down here is because…] TEC began. […as you know, I am a perfect computer, but there are still some things I do not fully understand, and I would like both of your help with understanding certain things.]

"Well, what would you like us to do?" Mabel asked.

[I would like to dance with you both.] TEC said.

"What?! How do we dance with a computer?!" Peach asked in shock.

[I knew you would ask that question, so I have some pre-made AI's that should suffice.] TEC said. All of a sudden, a holographic Peach and a holographic Mabel appeared. [Peach, may I dance with you first?]

"Um… okay TEC." Peach said in confusion. She took the hands of the holographic Peach and ballet music began to play. The two danced gracefully for several minutes, spinning and twirling and slowly shuffling around.

"This is getting boring." Mabel said as she watched from the sidelines. "Do I have to dance to this?"

[No, you do not.] TEC said, finishing up the dance with Peach. The holographic Peach disappeared, and the holographic Mabel walked over to the real Mabel. [How about dancing to this?] Hip-hop music began to play.

"Now this is my jam!" Mabel said with a smile. She began break dancing and spinning around, dancing rapidly. The holographic Mabel attempted keep up and eventually got the hang of Mabel's dancing style. After several more minutes, the music stopped and the holographic Mabel disappeared.

[Well, I thought that was fun.] TEC said. [Fun… I do believe I understand that word now. I posses more than a definition for that word.]

"I'll admit, I had some fun as well, TEC." Peach said.

[Now, if you would like, you may send e-mails to your friends.] TEC said.

"Good, I need to let Mario know of what's happening." Peach said. She walked over to the keyboard and began typing a message. Once it was complete, she hit the send key. After a few moments, the message was sent.

[Message sent.] TEC said. [Now Mabel, would you like to send a message?]

"Heck yeah I would!" Mabel sprinted over to the keyboard and quickly typed a message, then she hit the send key. After a few moments, the message was sent.

[Message sent.] TEC said. [You two should return to your room before the X-Naut guards find you.]

"Okay." Peach said. The door opened to let the two out. Peach walked down the hall towards her and Mabel's room. Mabel was about to exit when she turned to TEC.

"You're a weird computer, TEC." She said, then she left the room and the door closed.

[No, I am perfect.] TEC said. Then the lights dimmed as he shut down for the rest of the day.

:::::

Bowser, Kammy Koopa, and Gideon arrived in Petal Meadows, jumping out of the pipe nearby.

"Wow kid, you know your way around." Bowser said.

"See? I told you my help was invaluable." Gideon said, smirking. "I may not be from this world, but I know a few things about this place."

"How do you know of this world anyway?" Kammy asked.

"That's my personal secret." Gideon said, smirking. "Now, if my memory is correct, the Diamond Star should be located in Petalburg, which is a town not to far ahead."

"And you're sure it's there?" Bowser asked. Gideon nodded.

"As sure as the Earth is round." He said. "Now come, it's this way."

The three of the them continued down the path for a while until they reached the town of Petalburg. Once there, a Koopa came over to greet them, oblivious to who they were.

"Hi there!" The Koopa greeted them. "Welcome to Pe…tal…burg…" His eyes widened, seeing as it was Lord Bowser who stood in front of him. "IT'S KING BOWSER! Everyone, RUN!" The Koopa dashed away, and everyone else ran inside of the homes and locked their doors and windows.

"Well… people seem to know ya." Gideon said. They continued walking before spotting Princess Peach sitting in a window.

"Hey look! It's Princess Peach! Bingo!" Bowser walked over to her. "So, Princess, how'd ya like to dump Mario and come along with me?"

"…" Peach did not respond.

"Ah, the strong silent type, eh? No matter, I'll take you by force if I have to!" Bowser took a step toward Peach.

"Noooooo!" A Koopa shouted. "Pleas don't take my one and only Princess Peach poster!" He jumped up and grabbed the poster, then ran away. Bowser stood there, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Uh, King Bowser? Maybe you shouldn't beat yourself up over this." Gideon said.

"Great, now I look like the king of guys who talk to posters…" Bowser glumly said.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**I know this was short, but I'm glad to have gotten it done in time. I hope you enjoyed seeing Mabel and Gideon again, as I did enjoy writing their parts in! Next time its back to the Thousand-Year Door to locate the next Crystal Star! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	16. Post-Chapter 2: Millennium Door 3

**What's up guys? 087-B here with a new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand-Year Door! Sorry this one took some time to write, I'll try writing at least 1 day quicker than how fast I've been writing in recent times. In the last chapter, we got to see Peach and Mabel again and see them dance! Meanwhile, Gideon along with Bowser and Kammy continue their search for the Crystal Stars, but Gideon seems to have other plans in mind…**

**Anyways, this chapter will be the post-chapter for Chapter 2 and will feature the heroes heading back to the Thousand-Year Door to hold aloft the second Crystal Star and find out the location of the third, then they'll figure out what to do with Dipper's handicapped state… oh, you didn't know? He lost a foot a few chapters ago.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Post-Chapter 2 - Millennium Door 3_

"Candy, I give you the title or Hero of The Punies!" The Puni Elder said. Everyone gathered outside of the Great Tree, including all of the Punies. Wendy held Dipper, who was still in his comatose state, in her arms.

"I thank you, Elder." Candy said, taking a knee and bowing to the Elder. The Elder handed her the Puni Orb.

"Take this, it will be your reward." The Puni Elder said.

"Thank you very much." Candy said.

"Also, I have something else to give you, and item that should help you battle." The Elder said. She showed Candy a metallic rod that was black and red colored.

"A weapon for me?" Candy asked.

"Yes, you will need it." The Elder said. She grabbed the Puni Orb and placed it on top of the staff. "Punio stole it from an X-Naut guard earlier."

"Thank you." Candy smiled and took the rod.

"Bye everyone! Thanks for the help!" Punio said. "We hope to see you again!"

"As do we!" Pacifica said, and the heroes waved goodbye and walked away from the Great Tree, jumping into the log pipe that took them there.

The group had exited the pipe that led to the Great Tree and began walking toward the log pipe that led to the Rogueport Sewers. As they walked, however, a beeping noise was heard. Candy and Flurrie were surprised, but the others new what was happening. Mario took out his Mailbox SP and turned it on, then opened the email.

_Dear Mario,_

_I'm sure you're very concerned about me… but please know I'm fine! I'm actually more worried about you. The fiends who kidnapped me are searching desperately for the Crystal Stars. I'll try to learn what I can about them. I'll email you again if I uncover anything. OK? You must know I miss you, and I bet Mabel here misses her brother as well. Lately I've dreamt about our days back in the castle. I hope we'll spend carefree days there again soon._

_-Princess Peach-_

"I knew it, another email from Peach." Wendy said.

"Who is this Peach?" Candy asked.

"She's the princess who rules over this world, the Mushroom Kingdom." Pacifica said.

"Ah. I hope she is safe, then." Candy said.

:::::

The group made it back to the Rogueport Sewers in little time. They all exited the log pipe and began walking through the entrance Punio revealed at the start of their Boggly Woods adventure.

"So… What is this thing you keep bringing up? Some kind of door?" Candy asked.

"You'll see it once we get there." Wendy said. "It's pretty cool."

"It must be marvelous! Ancient architecture is such a glorious sight to marvel!" Flurrie said.

"So we have to hold this star up in front of the door as well, right?" Pacifica asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we do." Goombella said. "Just like the last Crystal Star, this one should lead us to the next."

They all entered the Thousand-Year Door chamber. Candy and Flurrie marveled at the strange yet beautiful ancient door. They all walked over to the pedestal in front of the door.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Candy asked, seeing as she still had the Emerald Star.

"You stand on the pedestal." Koops said. "Then you hold up the Crystal Star and the Magical Map, and it should then show the way to the next Crystal Star, I think."

"Okay then." Candy said. Mario gave her the Magical Map, and then she stepped on to the pedestal. She held up both the Magical Map and the Emerald Star, and the light show began.

The blue symbol filled lights surrounded the ground and the pedestal. Candy gasped as it happened. This time, the Emerald Star hovered over its respective circle, with a blue star icon replacing where the Diamond Star once hovered. Candy continued to hold both the Magical Map above her head as a ball of light shot down from the ceiling and exploded onto the map. Then, the symbols stopped, and everything returned to normal. Candy looked over the map and everyone else gathered around to look, save for Dipper, of course. The picture on the map this time was that of a small building on a platform that was hovering in the air, and overlaying it was an image of a golden colored Crystal Star.

"Um… where is this?" Candy asked.

"In the sky? How does that make sense?" Wendy asked.

"Maybe we should go see Professor Frankly about this." Koops said. "He seems to be able to figure these things out easily."

"Yeah, that seems reasonable." Wendy said.

"Who is Professor Frankly?" Candy asked.

"A Goomba professor and archeologist." Goombella answered. "Maybe he can figure out where we go next."

:::::

"Hmm…" Frankly studied the map. "Ah, I know this place! The next Crystal Star is in a city called Glitzville!"

"Glitzville? What's that?" Pacifica asked.

"A city that floats in the sky." Frankly answered.

"A floating city? How is that possible?" Mario asked.

"When you have enough money, you can do anything around here, I guess." Frankly answered. "The city itself is merely a tourist attraction."

"So we finally get to have fun? Sweet!" Goombella said. "Now how do we get there?"

"AHHH!" Dipper shot up, sweating and panting. The others looked at him surprised.

"He's awake and alive!" Flurrie said.

"I… I lost my foot!" Dipper shouted.

"Yeah, but…" Wendy began.

"But what?" Dipper asked, calming down a bit.

"We got you a prosthetic foot." Pacifica said, finishing Wendy's sentence.

Dipper looked down and his eyes widened as he saw three metal rods connecting to a metal foot, all hooked up to his knee and leg. He tried bending it and it worked fine, only hurting a tiny bit.

"You… you guys found a way to save my life?" Dipper asked, standing up.

"Yeah, we can't let anyone die on this adventure." Goombella said. Dipper smiled but then had a moment of realization.

"What did I miss?" Dipper asked.

"Well, we got the second Crystal Star, the Emerald Star." Koops said. "We battled Magnus Von Grapple, the robot of Lord Crump, and won, and we found out where the next Crystal Star is."

"Where is it?" Dipper asked.

"In a flying city called Glitzville." Candy said.

"A flying city?" Dipper said. "Weird. So how do we get to this flying city anyway?"

"That's what we still have to find out." Pacifica said. "Anyways, Professor Frankly, how do we get to Glitzville?"

"That's the unfortunate part." Frankly said. "The only way to get to Glitzville is to arrive in a blimp, and the only way to get tickets is to have acquaintances with the syndicate in this town."

"Wait, we have to make a deal with the mafia just to get a ticket?" Wendy asked. "Geez, this town is harsh."

"It's probably best if only half of us go to the mafia for the tickets." Mario said. "Pacifica, Koops, Dipper, and Candy, you four stay here. Wendy, Goombella, Flurrie and I will go and see if we can get the tickets."

"Okay, sounds good." Dipper said. Mario, Wendy, Goombella, and Flurrie exited the house and walked off, leaving the others behind.

"Is there a place to eat in this town?" Candy asked. "I haven't eaten anything since I was held captive in that cage in the Great Tree."

"Yeah, let's go get something to eat." Pacifica said.

:::::

The four that had stayed behind went to Podley's Bar &amp; Inn to grab a quick bite to eat, wanting a quick break from their big adventure in the Boggly Woods before heading to Glitzville. They all sat at a table in the middle of the room and grabbed their menus.

"So what kind of food is on the menu?" Candy asked.

"It's food relevant only to this world." Dipper said. "It should be pretty different but it's good nonetheless."

"In that case…" Candy scanned the menu. "I shall order the Love Pudding. It appears to be a dessert delicacy."

"Look at you, already getting used to this place." Wendy said.

"If I don't get used to this place quickly, who knows how I'll fare later on." Candy said.

"You know, for once, I'm actually excited to go somewhere to look for a Crystal Star." Dipper said. "Glitzville sounds amazing."

"Yeah, it does." Pacifica said. "Like Frankly said, it's a giant tourist attraction, so maybe we can finally relax and enjoy ourselves."

"But we still need to be ready." Koops said. He eased his voice into a whisper and looked around, then leaned into the group. "Hopefully the X-Nauts don't know that Glitzville is where the star is."

"Well, a tourist trap would be an unlikely place for them to search." Candy said. "If they did find it, however, that would be bad for us." The waiter walked over.

"May I take you order?" He asked.

"I'll take the Couples Cake." Pacifica said, smiling at Koops.

"I shall order the Love Pudding." Candy said.

"And I'll have the Shroom Cake." Dipper said. Then the waiter took all of their menus and walked off. The four of them sat in silence for a moment.

"So… see any good movies lately?" Pacifica asked.

"Not really." Koops said.

"Not after I finished Star Wars Episode V." Dipper said. "It was a good end to the trilogy."

"What's Star Wars?" Koops asked.

"It is a sci-fi movie series about an intergalactic space war." Candy answered.

"Sounds cool, but why is Episode 5 the end of the trilogy?" Koops asked.

"They showed the movies to the public out of order." Dipper said.

"Must've been confusing." Koops said. Dipper nodded.

"It was, but the movies were awesome nonetheless." He said. Then the waiter came back with their food.

"So what do you think we should do once we get to Glitzville?" Pacifica asked.

"We shouldn't worry about that yet." Dipper said. "We'll discuss that later once we arrive there."

"IF we arrive there." Candy said. "We do not know if the others will succeed in getting the tickets."

"Good point." Dipper said. He then felt something vibrating. He pulled the journal out of his backpack and opened it to a new page where a message began to form that was addressed to him.

_Dear Dipper,_

_I heard about your injury… don't die on me bro! Well, you probably won't but… Anyways, congrats on getting that Crystal Star or whatever it's called. Those X-Naut jerky jerks or whatever are becoming mad that you and the others are getting them, though._

_From Mabel_

:::::

Dipper stared out the window in his room in the inn. He stared at a glowing dot in the sky that changed colors from green, to purple, to gold, then back to green. He squinted to see it better, and it appeared to be a flying city.

"So that's Glitzville, eh?" He asked himself. He turned around and saw Mario asleep on his bed. "Today he made a deal with the mob. Told me his story about it, too. That man seems to have adventures every day…" He yawned and sat on his bed, then began to lay back.

"Who knows what Glitzville will be like. Hopefully nothing bad…" Then he drifted off to sleep.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Sorry this took a while to write but I'm glad I got it done. Next chapter the gang will start the Glitzville Arc! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	17. Chapter 3 - Part 1: The City In The Sky

**What's up guys? 087-B here, bringing you another chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door! Maybe the gang will get to Glitzville this chapter? A small chance…maybe…possibly…they will.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 1 - The City In The Sky_

"Dipper! Wake up!" Pacifica shook Dipper awake. Dipper sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Huh?" He asked groggily.

"You overslept! Hurry up!" Pacifica said. "We're gonna miss the blimp!"

That remark got Dipper's attention. His eyes widened as he jolted out of the bed, grabbing his staff that leaned against the window sill. He picked up his hat that was hung on the bed rack and placed it on his head, then grabbed his jacket that hung on a nearby rack. He placed it on and adjusted his badges, then turned to Pacifica.

"Let's go." He said.

The two ran outside the inn and into the West area of Rougeport towards the Cheep Blimp. They dashed for the entrance when a fish-like creature in a suit, a Cheep-Cheep, stopped them.

"Tickets, please!" It said.

The two scanned their tickets quickly and sprinted past the Cheep-Cheep, jumping into a green warp pipe. The warp pipe took them to a hill side that was a small ways North from Rougeport. The two stepped on a blue loading platform that lifted them up into the blimp. They tried to catch their breaths as they walked into the seating area and found all of their friends waiting for them.

"Finally! What took you guys so long?" Goombella asked.

"Mister Pine Tree here overslept." Pacifica scoffed at Dipper, then took a seat between Goombella and Koops.

"Nobody else decided to wake me up, anyways." Dipper said with a slight tone of irritation in his voice. He took a seat between Candy and Mario. Then the intercom sounded.

Now departing for Glitzville. We repeat, now departing for Glitzville. Please stay in your seats at all times until the blimp has safely stopped and landed or unless instructed otherwise. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy your time in Glitzville!

The eight heroes felt the blimp vibrate as it began to rise up towards the sky. They looked out the windows and were amazed to see the town of Rougeport getting ever so smaller the higher they went. Finally they reached the cloud layer and began moving East towards the flying city of Glitzville, the location of the third Crystal Star.

"I…I can't believe it." Pacifica said, smiling as she watched the town of Rougeport get further away. "Every centimeter closer to Glitzville we get, chills run down my spine. It's so exciting!"

"Maybe we'll finally get to relax this time." Wendy said, leaning back against the inner wall of the blimp. "I mean, first I'm locked in a castle by a dragon, then we had to fight those X-Dorks at that tree with their giant robot, and this…" She looked out the window and saw a floating, colorful platform in the distance. Glitzville. "Glitzville might just be the best place we've been to yet."

"You're right, Wendy." Dipper said. "Also, considering the pattern we've had, maybe we can find another resident of Gravity Falls at Glitzville, as well as the star." The others smiled at that remark, but then Candy looked down at Dipper's robotic prosthetic foot. She frowned.

"…I can't believe that happened." She said. Dipper noticed.

"What?" He followed her gaze. Now the other heroes, and a few of the other passengers, were staring at the fake foot. "Oh, that."

"Does it ever…you know…hurt?" Mario asked.

"Sometimes it stings, but the worst felling is how uncomfortable it is." Dipper said, smirking. "Guys, don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Yeah, but with a close call like that, who knows what could have happened, darling." Flurrie said.

"Let's try and avoid an amputation this star, alright?" Koops said. "I couldn't handle Dipper losing a foot, so if any more of that happens I might just die of anxiety."

"Yeah, let's keep the risk factor low here." Goombella said. She looked out the window and her eyes widened. "Oh look, we're at Glitzville!" The intercom sounded again.

Attention all passengers, our scheduled arrival at Glitzville is nearing it's aforementioned destination. Please return to your seats and remain in them until the blimp has made a safe landing or unless instructed otherwise. Thank you, and have a great time in Glitzville!

:::::

The passengers soon loaded onto the lowering pad that would take them down into Glitzville. The pad lowered down, filled with Goombas, Koopas, and of course, the eight heroes. The pad landed and a small blue gate opened. The passengers stepped out and began walking in many different directions, leaving the heroes as the only remaining passengers on the pad. They stepped off and gawked at the glorious tourist attraction. Bright lights were all around the colorful city, which seemed to be a fan of the colors orange, yellow, and blue. The pattern on the ground beneath them was that of a large golden star enclosed in a blue circle. All around the city were colorful balloons that held it afloat in the sky.

"Oh…my…gosh!" Pacifica exclaimed. "This place is so beautiful! There's colors and excitement everywhere!" She pulled Koops over to her side. "This is where we're going on our honeymoon, sweetie." Koops blushed.

"Wow, you guys are already thinking that far ahead? You aren't even engaged." Dipper said. The couple ignored him. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, where do we go first?" Flurrie asked. Candy pulled out a pamphlet with the word 'Glitzville!' expressed in a vibrant yellow color on the front. She opened it.

"I grabbed this pamphlet back in Rogueport before we left." She said. "There are quite a few attractions here in Glitzville. There is a fighting ring called the Glitz Pit, a relaxation bar called the Juice Bar, a souvenir shack called the Stop and Shop, and a phone booth."

"Uh…why is a phone booth on the pamphlet?" Wendy asked in confusion.

"It says here that it is a notorious phone booth that, when used, will automatically dial a random number, then hang up." Candy answered, reading the pamphlet. "It is also one of the only phone booths in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Sounds like it would fit at the Mystery Shack…" Dipper muttered. Then he remembered his Grunkle Stan. He looked down solemnly. He had no clue where he was. Then he thought of something. This place was a tourist attraction, so maybe Stan was here! It was a possibility!

"A strange phone booth, eh?" Goombella walked over to the phone booth that was just outside the Stop and Shop. She grabbed the receiver with her hypothetical hands and listened. As soon as she started listening, a dial tone played, then someone answered the other end.

"Hello? Am I the 789,456th caller? Did I win the free lottery tickets?" The voice on the other end said before hanging up. Goombella put the receiver back in it's place, then walked back over to the group.

"Yep, that's, like, the strangest call I've ever gotten on a phone." She said.

"I have an idea." Koops spoke up. "Well we're thinking of a plan, why don't we go watch a battle at the Glitz Pit?

"That sounds like a fun idea, Koops." Dipper said. "We deserve some relaxation by this point, right guys?"

The group agreed on that idea and walked north to a large building with two sliding glass doors, outdoor fountains, golden-orange rotating pillars, a red carpet leading to the door, and a giant Chain-Comp on top of the building with the animated words 'Glitz Pit!' underneath it. They walked inside, but as soon as the doors closed with the heroes inside, another door opened, the door to the Juice Bar. Out from the building stepped four figures. One was a tall, skinny blonde teen with a red shirt, another was a darker skinned teen with a cap and black shirt, the third was a teenage girl with a phone in her hands, and the final one was a slightly overweight teen with mustache stubble and a green shirt.

"Geez, Thompson! You've gotta stop eating all those Shroom Steaks!" The blonde teen said to the green shirted teen.

"But Lee, they're just too delicious!" Thompson said in a slightly disappointed tone.

"They're costing us all of our coins! We can't earn coins fast if you keep bulking up before matches!" Lee said. "We need all the help we can get!"

"Sorry…" Thompson looked at the ground before realizing something. "Wait, when's our next match?"

"Not for a few hours." The capped one said. "About two or three."

"Seems like a while, Nate." The girl said, not looking up from her phone. The digital screen on her phone read 'Status Update: just had THE BEST shroom steak! luv it here in glitzville! XOXO'.

"Who cares? We've got time to blow and train before we battle." Nate said. "And enough with the status updates, Tambry. We don't even have reception here." Tambry ignored Nate's comment.

"Let's just buy a few preparation items and then get back to the locker rooms." Lee said, walking off toward the Stop and Shop. The three others followed.

:::::

The interior of the Glitz Pit had golden walls with red carpets and decorations everywhere. A digital screen to the right showed a schedule of some kind, and there was a set of double branching stairs that lead up to a second floor. In the middle of the back wall on both floors were sets of double doors leading to other rooms, and in the corners of the back wall were two other doors being blocked by security guards.

"Wow, talk about fancy." Goombella said.

"It reminds me of my time in the spotlight!" Flurrie said, reminiscing about her past career. "The backstage was so entrancing…"

"It appears these double doors over here lead to the fighting ring." Candy said, walking over to the first set of double doors.

"How do you know that?" Dipper asked.

"Because of this." Candy pointed to a sign next to the door that read 'Fighter's Ring - Seat Section A'.

They all walked inside. As soon as they did, they covered their ears. First of all, it was LOUD. The fans, which consisted of many Mushroom Kingdom residents like Toads, Goombas, and Koopas, were cheering loudly. The room was like a coliseum dome with am elevated stage in the middle. Spotlights shined on the stage as a huge monitor showed a video representation of the current battle on it. On the stage were two fighters. One was a giant yellow bird-like creature with a styled hairdo and a black belt. The other appeared to be a Koopa wearing a ton of armor, as well as a spiked helmet. It also had red eyes. In the background standing in front of the monitor was a blue lizard-like creature called a Clubba. It had a fedora on as well as an orange ponytail, small glasses, and a black suit with a red bow tie. It also held a microphone in its hands. The gang took seats to watch, but unfortunately, the match was just about over. The bird-like fighter sprinted over to the armored Koopa and jumped into the air, then kicked into it, knocking it onto its back. The Clubba walked over to the fighter that still stood as the audience cheered.

"Well there you have it, folks!" It said. "Looks like the winner is our current champion, Rawk Hawk!" The audience cheered again. The Clubba seemed to be a prompter for the Glitz Pit. He held the microphone in front of Rawk. "So, champ, what did ya think about today's fight?"

"It was a piece of cake! Honestly, this guy's a total weakling! Nobody can ever defeat the Rawk!" Rawk said cockily. Dipper rolled his eyes from the stands.

"Hoo-Wee!" The prompter said excitedly. "Say champ, hows-about you show the audience that champions belt you've got there! I'm sure they'd love to see it!"

"Of course they would! Everyone loves the RAWK!" Rawk again said cockily. He took off his belt and held it up. The audience cheered, but the eight heroes' eyes widened at the sight. There, sitting atop the belt, was…

A golden colored Crystal Star. It shimmered in the spotlights.

"Well, folks! Don't that make you wanna fight for this beaut?" The prompter jokingly asked. "That's all for today's match, folks! Hope you enjoyed, and we'll see you all next time!"

:::::

The eight heroes exited the ring, now back inside of the lobby.

"So the Crystal Star is on the champions belt, huh?" Dipper noted. "This might be a little trickier than I thought…"

"How are we supposed to get it, then?" Pacifica asked. "Do we just…steal it?"

"No, that would be very uncalled for." Mario said. "Besides, I could never stoop down to _that_ level."

"Well, it appears that only one option remains." Candy said. "We must sign up as fighters and fight our way to the top."

"Wait, what?!" Goombella asked in surprise. "Candy, I don't think you've realized, but the fighters at the Glitz Pit are, like, some of the strongest in the Mushroom Kingdom! We may never get this star, at least not for a while, anyways."

"Well…" Dipper started, before pausing. The others looked toward him. He looked at them with a determined smile.

"We'll just have to get stronger, then."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Whew! Finally got this chapter done after putting it off for a month! I wrote one sentence of it on April 30****th****, the date I published the last chapter, and then forgot about it for a time. But now it's finally done!**

**So quite a bit of stuff happened this chapter! First, the gang made it to Glitzville! Now, with the knowledge of the Crystal Star being within possession of the Glitz Pit Champion, Rawk Hawk, the eight heroes must join the ranks of the Glitz Pit and fight to the top to claim the Champ's Belt and obtain their third Crystal Star! Oh, and we also got a sneak peak at some other familiar faces who have ended up in Glitzville! That's right, Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson are here! I'll leave their status up to you guys and what they're doing, but for now, I need to work on some other things!**

**Oh, and this chapter ended on Page 150! Hooray!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	18. Chapter 3 - Part 2: Minor Leaguers

**What's up guys? 087-B here with a brand new chapter of this story! In the previous chapter, the gang reached Glitzville and found out where the Crystal Star is! On the belt of the Glitz Pit champion! How unlucky for them…**

**In this chapter, they'll have to join the Glitz Pit and fight their way to the top and defeat the champion, Rawk Hawk, if they want to obtain the Crystal Star! Also, in the last chapter, we got a quick look at Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson! I wonder what roles they'll play in this arc…?**

**I'll admit guys, I've been excited to get to this arc. It's one of my favorites from the original game (Second favorite, just behind Chapter 6!), so I have quite a few plans for this arc to spice up the storyline! But enough of my rambling…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 2 - Minor Leaguers_

The eight heroes walked over to the door in the left corner of the lobby that was being blocked a guard. As soon as they did, however, the guard stopped them.

"Hey! Nobody is allowed back here except for the staff and the fighters!" He said angrily.

"That's exactly why we're going through here, bub." Goombella said. "We want to sign up as fighters!"

"Oh, really? Well go on in!" The guard opened the door for them leading to a long, dank hallway with many doors leading to other rooms. "Mr. Grubba's office is right down the hall. It's the fancy wooden door with the blue carpet underneath with a star on it." The heroes walked into the hall as the guard shut the door behind them.

"Who's Grubba?" Pacifica asked.

"Probably the manager or something." Dipper said as they walked down the hall. "He might be that lizard guy we saw on stage, talking with the champ."

"The 'lizard guy' you two are talking about is actually called a Clubba here in the Mushroom Kingdom." Goombella said, flipping through her tattle log.

"I remember a time when I fought many Clubbas." Mario reminisced. "I had some different companions at that point. They were strange, but fun to be around…"

They arrived at the door and the guard in front of it moved aside, allowing them to enter. When they were all inside of the office, they saw it had pristine white walls as well as a blue carpet floor. A desk was near the East wall, a bookshelf near the West wall, and some furniture near the South-East corner of the room. Sitting at the desk was the blue Clubba prompter they had seen minutes earlier.

"Whoa whoa whoa, who are you people?" The Clubba prompter asked in surprise.

"The name's Dipper!" Dipper said.

"I'm Pacifica." Pacifica said.

"Name's Wendy." Wendy said.

"I am Candy." Candy said.

"I'm Mario." Mario said.

"I'm Goombella!" Goombella said.

"Um, I'm Koops." Koops said.

"I am Madame Flurrie." Flurrie said.

"And you've come into my office for what reason?" The Clubba prompter asked.

"We wish to sign up as fighters!" Candy said.

"Really now? And why do you want to become fighters?" The Clubba prompter asked.

"So we can become Champions!" Pacifica said.

"Well, you certainly have a lot of enthusiasm!" The Clubba prompter said. "My name is Grubba, and I run this here Glitz Pit." He took a step away from his desk. "I used to be like you, wantin' to fight in the ring. I was pretty good, too! I never became champ before I retired, but it don't matter. Now I'm runnin' this here dojo where you can fight for glory and fame!" He pulled out a sheet of paper, then placed it on the desk.

"What's that?" Dipper asked, reading the paper.

"It's your contract." Grubba said. "But I should let you know that a fighting team can only have a maximum of five members. You all should divide yourselves equally."

"I have an idea for the teams." Wendy said. "Mario, your team can consist of you, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie. Dipper, your team will be you, Pacifica, me and Candy."

"Why me as the leader?" Dipper asked.

"You're the strongest out of the four of us." Pacifica said.

"Besides, we also need someone smart to be the leader." Candy said.

"Then the teams are settled." Mario said.

"Good. Now you need fighting names. Something jazzy that will appeal to the crowd watchin' your fights." Grubba said. He turned to Mario. "Huh…Mario is too bland of a name. From now on, you'll be called…" He thought for a moment. "The Great Gonzales!"

"Okay?" Mario unsurely said. Then Grubba turned to Dipper.

"Dipper doesn't sound like a fighting name." Grubba said. "How about-"

"Sir Dippingsauce?" Pacifica interrupted.

"The Big Dipper?" Wendy interrupted.

"Fish and Dips?" Candy interrupted. The three girls giggled at their jokes while Dipper stared at them, an annoyed expression on his face.

"You girls are super funny." He said sarcastically.

"The Mighty Orion!" Grubba said.

"Huh?" Dipper asked, facing Grubba.

"You're fighting name shall be The Mighty Orion!" Grubba said.

"…okay…" Dipper mumbled.

"Great! Now that that's settled, all the team captains have to do now is sign the contract with your fighter names and we'll be good to go!" Grubba said. Dipper signed the contract as 'The Mighty Orion', then Mario signed the contract as 'The Great Gonzales'. "Great! Now I'll call in my secretary, Ms. Jolene. She'll take you to your locker room." Grubba turned away to speak into an intercom. Moments later, a Toad with blonde hair, a white cap with pink spots, a pair of glasses, a red suit with a white undershirt, and red shoes appeared at the door.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Grubba?" The Toad lady said, adjusting her glasses.

"Thanks for coming, Ms. Jolene." Grubba said. "I need you to take these here new fighters to their locker room."

"Certainly, Mr. Grubba." Jolene said. She adjusted her glasses once more. "Come on, follow me." Then she led the group out into the hall.

"Oh, and remember!" Grubba called out to the group. "This place is about fightin' for sport! I don't wanna see any blood, guts, or bones! Any of that, and you're outta here!"

:::::

Jolene brought the group to a small, dirty locker room that had a few fighters in it, some old rusty lockers (one of them was broken), a torn bed, and some benches with springs showing out of the cushions. In the back of the room was a large yellow cube with an angry eye-based expression on it. Next to the door was a purple machine with a screen and a few buttons on it.

"This is the Minor League locker room. It is where you will be staying for now, since you are new fighters." Jolene explained.

"Messy, messy…definitely not my tastes." Pacifica said, looking around. "But I suppose I could get used to it for now."

"It may be messy, but that only makes it much more desirable to become a part of the Major League." Jolene said. She walked over to the purple machine. "This machine here is known as the Glitz Pit Terminal. It is where you can reserve fights and view the rankings of you and other fighters."

"What rank are we at?" Dipper asked.

"Because Team Orion signed up before Team Gonzales, Team Orion is currently ranked at #20, while Team Gonzales is currently ranked at #21." Jolene explained. "You may be at the bottom of the rankings, but with enough enthusiasm and skill, you might make it to the Major Leagues."

"I think that makes sense." Wendy said. "So when do we, you know, fight, or whatever?"

"Actually, I was just about to ask you to reserve a match." Jolene said. "Because Team Orion is a higher rank, I would like them to go first."

Dipper walked over to the terminal monitor. He pressed the first button on it, and two choices appeared on the screen. One choice read 'Reserve A Match', while the other choice read 'View Rankings'.

"It is a touch-screen monitor." Jolene explained. "Simply tap whichever option you would like to choose."

Dipper tapped 'Reserve A Match'. When he did, Grubba appeared on the screen.

"Hoo boy! Well if it isn't the Mighty Orion!" Grubba said. "Fixin' for a fight, I presume?" Dipper nodded. "Well lemme see who your first opponent will be…" Grubba looked through a sheet of paper for a moment. "Ah-ha! Here we go! Your first match is against Rank #19 in the Glitz Pit, the Goomba Bros!"

"The Goomba Bros? Sounds easy enough, if it's just Goombas, that is." Dipper said.

"That confident, are ya?" Grubba said. "Now listen here, son. In this battle, I want you to appeal to the crowd at least once, okay? Show the crowd a little spunk so the match ain't so boring, alright? People don't like watching normal battles." Then the monitor went blank.

"Wait, what did he mean by 'appeal to the crowd'?" Dipper asked.

"That is a rule here at the Glitz Pit." Jolene explained. "Each fighter has a special rule they must fulfill in order to move up to the next rank. They also must win the battle. Appealing to the crowd is one of the most basic special rules, here." Dipper nodded, showing he understood. "A security guard should arrive momentarily to take you to your first match. Until then, I bid you farewell." Jolene adjusted her glasses, then walked out of the room. Moments later, a security guard arrived.

"Team Orion, it's time for your first battle." He said. "Better get out there, bub."

:::::

Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, and Candy entered the ring from a large metal door on the left wall. They walked down an open path that was blocked off from the crowd, then walked up a few stairs onto the stage. The crowd cheered as Grubba stood in front of the large screen that showcased the fight. On the other side of the ring were five Goombas.

"You ready?" Dipper said to Pacifica as he pulled out his staff.

"I'm always ready." Pacifica said as she pulled out her scepter.

"Well howdy, folks!" Grubba said into his microphone. The crowd cheered again. "Today we've got some new fighters here! Say hello to Team Orion!" The crowd cheered silently but they were still excited for the new team making an appearance. "Their opponents are the rough, the tough, the hoppin' hardheads…" Grubba paused. "Yep, that's right! It's a fight to the finish with the Goomba Bros!" The crowd cheered loudly again. Grubba walked over to the first Goomba and held out his microphone to it. "So, how do you feel about today's fight?"

"Oh please, we can take these guys!" It said. "I mean, three of them are girls and the boy is handicapped! This should be a piece of Shroom Cake!" Team Orion took offense to the Goomba's comment.

"Would ya look at that, folks!" Grubba said into his microphone. "These guys are pumped for battle!" He walked over to Dipper. "So, sir Mighty Orion, are you ready for today's battle?" He held out his microphone to Dipper.

"Um, well yeah." Dipper said. "I mean, it's just a bunch of Goombas, right? After all, they are the underlings of underlings…" He sweated nervously at the thought of the crowd listening to him. "No offense, Goombella."

"None taken." Goombella said from the stands.

"So you really think Goombas are weak and can't do anything?" Grubba said into his microphone. Dipper went wide-eyed as the Goomba Bros took offense to his comments.

"Well, no, that's, um, not quite what I meant…" Dipper said sheepishly, sweating more. "I mean, that's what I meant, but…" He stuttered a bit before stopping. He took a breath before saying loudly into the microphone. "Goombas don't have any arms or a sense of direction! They constantly gets stomped on, or they just walk off cliffs! How can they be considered strong?!" The audience went quiet for a second. "Oh, um…sorry. Stress just built up, ya know?"

"You can be forgiven." Grubba said. "I felt the same way at my first fight over 25 years ago!" He walked back over to the center of the stage, just in front of the screen so he could give the fighters their space. "Now, let's get ready to-"

"Eat this, suckers!" The first Goomba interrupted Grubba. It ran forward and rammed itself into Dipper's prosthetic foot. Dipper lost his balance and fell forward, landing flat on the floor. Then it sprinted back over to its side of the arena.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Pacifica called out angrily. "You can't make a move before the match begins!"

"Consider it a welcoming gift to the arena." The first Goomba said. "Besides, he deserved it anyways."

"But hitting him in his fake foot?! That's just plain dirty!" Wendy called out.

"We have an eventful beginning to the fight, folks!" Grubba said. "Like I was saying, get ready to…" He paused. "BAAAAAATLE!"

Dipper adjusted his fake foot and stood up. Deciding to make the first official move of the fight, he readied his staff and sprinted forward. He went for the first Goomba, but it jumped out of the way, making him hit the second Goomba instead. The second Goomba went tumbling into the third Goomba, and both went off stage knocked out.

"Heh, like Goombella said, Max HP is 2, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0." Dipper said, quoting Goombella's Tattle Log. Then he sprinted back over to his side of the stage.

Pacifica readied her scepter, then she sprinted forward. She jumped toward the first Goomba, but ended up jumping over it. She landed on the fourth Goomba, stomping down hard on its head and knocking it out. Pacifica smirked.

"More then half of them are down." She said. Then she sprinted back over to her side of the stage.

The fifth Goomba sprinted towards Candy, but she jumped out of the way just in time.

"I guess now is the time for me to use my new weapon!" Candy took out her Puni Rod. She swung her rod at the fifth Goomba, making contact and knocking it off the stage, knocked out.

The first Goomba was the last one left. It started to run off when a red hand emerged from the ground. It grabbed hold of the Goomba, holding it in place. Then Wendy walked over with her fists glowing red.

"Having a power like this is pretty fun." She said. She looked at the Goomba and smirked. "Anybody tell you that fighting dirty is wrong?"

"Please let me go!" The Goomba pleaded.

"Hey, Dipper." Wendy called out. "Come land the finishing blow, and make it appealing!" Wendy used her powers to make the hand throw the Goomba into the air. Dipper quickly caught on and smirked.

"On it!" He sprinted over and swung his staff like a baseball bat, hitting the Goomba and sending it flying into the stands seating area out. Dipper smirked and held up the piece sign to the audience. "Who's awesome?" The audience cheered.

"And that does it, folks!" Grubba shouted. "It's Team Orion's first match, and they have come out victorious!" The crowd cheered as Grubba walked over to the winning team. He held out his microphone to Dipper. "You're one tough handicapped fighter! What did you think of today's battle?"

"Piece of cake." Dipper said. "I mean, this battle was way to easy. Give us a challenge next time!"

"Well folks, these new fighters have a lot of spunk!" Grubba said into his microphone. "Come on now! Give it up for the Mighty Orion!"

The audience cheered as confetti fell from the ceiling, covering the winning team. Dipper waved, Pacifica winked, Wendy shrugged, and Candy bowed.

:::::

Team Orion, followed by Grubba and Jolene, returned to the Minor League locker room, and Team Gonzales was waiting for them.

"Great job out there, guys!" Goombella said.

"That battle was simply marvelous!" Flurrie said.

"Thanks, Goombella and Flurrie." Dipper said. "Sorry about, ya know…all that Goomba stuff."

"No worries, you were only talking about those jerks." Goombella said. "They were, like, the dirtiest fighting Goombas I've ever seen, even dirtier than the ones in the Rogueport Sewers…"

"Ya did great out there, son!" Grubba patted Dipper on the back hard. "You won the match and you appealed to the crowd at least once! Who knows, maybe you did it more than once!"

"Gee, thanks Grubba." Dipper said sheepishly, rubbing his aching spinal cord. Then Jolene walked over to the team of four and handed each of them 3 coins.

"After every match, you earn prize money." Jolene said. "It's only your first match, so it is not a lot. If you win the match and follow the special rule, you earn the total amount of coins, if you win the match but don't follow the special rule, you earn half the amount of coins, and if you lose the match, you earn 1 coin. In this match, 3 is the total number of coins you can win."

"Now all you gotta do is check your rankings and then get back out there on the ring!" Grubba said. Then he left the room.

"You have learned everything that you need to know by this point." Jolene said. "Goodbye, and safe battling." She adjusted her glasses, then left the room.

"So, when do you guys fight?" Dipper asked Mario.

"We will be fighting the Goomba Bros in an hour." Mario said.

"Let's check our rankings." Pacifica said. She checked the Terminal and selected 'View Rankings'. "Says here that Team Orion is at Rank #19, just above Rank #20, the Goomba Bros, and Rank #21, Team Gonzales."

"Who's at Rank #18?" Wendy asked.

"That would be me." The heroes turned to see a Koopa with sunglasses, but this one had a yellow shell and yellow boots. "The name is King K."

"Name's Dipper, but you can call me-"

"Yeah yeah, I know. You're the Mighty Orion." King K said. "I'm the head of Rank #18, the KP Koopas. I figured that I should show you around." He pointed to a Bandit that was wearing green clothing. "That's Bandy Andy, but you can just call him Andy. He and I go way back."

"Yeah, we do…" Andy said. He smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me." He left the room. King K sighed.

"We used to see each other all the time, but now he's been sneaking off to who knows where." He turned and pointed to a regular Bob-omb. "This guy here is Master Crash, or Crash for short." He whispered in Dippers ear, "He can be a bit of a nerd sometimes."

"Hey BOMB. What was that BOOM about being a nerd BAM?" Master Crash asked.

"Man, you were listening? That's cold." King K said. Finally, he pointed to a Bald Cleft, except this one was green and it had darker purple boots. "This last guys is Cleftor, and he's the head of his own team, the Punk Rocks."

"Cleftor no like new fighters." Cleftor said. "Cleftor think they're weak."

"Hey, lay off Clef-dog." King K said. He turned back to Dipper. "He may be rough on the outside, but deep down he's a big softie."

"King K talk nonsense about Cleftor." Cleftor said, but King K ignored him.

"You guys did great out there in your first battle." He said. "I heard that the Goomba Bros will be fighting against Team Gonzales as their last battle before a suspension."

"For fighting dirty?" Pacifica asked.

"For fighting dirty and taking out a handicapped individual." King K said. The heroes smirked. "Anyways, Team Gonzales' match is coming up soon, so why don't we go watch?"

:::::

Later at night, Jolene had taken the boys to a boy Minor League dormitory, and the girls to a girl Minor League dormitory. The rooms were like the Minor League locker room. They were unsanitary and uncomfortable but they were habitable.

"This is where you will be staying for the duration of your time here at the Glitz Pit." Jolene explained to the boys. "If you manage to join the Major League, you will get higher class dormitories. Have a good night." She adjusted her glasses and left to speak with the girls.

A few hours into the night, Dipper felt something strange coming from his pocket. It felt like a vibration, a slow, small vibration. He woke up and reached into his pocket, pulling out his mysterious cipher sheet. He looked at it and his eyes widened. Not only were some of the markings in color now, but two of the non-colored markings were glowing brightly, and the backside of the page had something on it. The Pine Tree, the Star Piece, the Ice Bag, the Lollipop, the Hammer, the Pickaxe, the Bandage, and the Necklace were in color now, but he couldn't make out the two glowing markings. He slowly crept out of the bed, landing on the hard and cracked floor of the dark dormitory. He crept out of the room and into the dark hallways. Seeing as it was empty, Dipper slowly closed the door, then quietly sprinted down the hall towards the girl Minor League dormitories. He stopped in front of the door, then took out his walkie-talkie. He clicked the button a few times, then he heard foot steps. The door opened, and Pacifica, her eyes filled with 'sleep', stepped out.

"What do you want…?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Check this out." Dipper showed her the paper.

"Whoa, what is this?" Pacifica seemed fully awake now.

"Follow me, we can't risk getting caught." Dipper said. The two snuck into the Glitz Pit lobby. It was very dark and empty. They walked outside into the cold night. Glitzville was slightly dimmer at night but it as still fairly bright.

"What's with all of these icons or whatever?" Pacifica asked, taking the paper from Dipper.

"I don't know." Dipper said. "But I thought I should let you know."

"…wait, look." Pacifica pointed to the colored icons. "Eight of these are in color, and there are eight of us."

"Maybe these markings go with each of us?" Dipper suggested. "Look, this lollipop might be Candy."

"The Pine Tree is you, the Star Piece is me." Pacifica said.

"The Hammer is Mario, the Necklace is Flurrie." Dipper continued. "The Pickaxe is Goombella, the Bandage is Koops."

"And this last one, the Ice Bag, that might be Wendy…" Pacifica finished. "…this is weird, really weird. Things like this just don't show up for no reason."

"It's like we came here for a reason…" Dipper said.

"…how did you find the warp pipe?" Pacifica asked.

"What?" Dipper questioned.

"The warp pipe that brought us to this world." Pacifica said. "How did you find it?"

"…I used this journal." Dipper took out the Journal #3. "Wait, now that I think about it, the page about the warp pipe wasn't in here before all of this happened."

"And I've been through the entirety of Gravity Falls, even the forest and the border." Pacifica said. "I haven't seen anything that looks like a warp pipe."

"…maybe we were meant to come here…" Dipper said. "…I've read up on the history of the Mushroom Kingdom. In the Bibles it talks about a hero from another dimension coming to save the Kingdom from an evil threat. Maybe one of us is that hero…"

"Maybe the X-Nauts are an even bigger threat than we thought." Pacifica said. "They probably have Mabel cause they think she might know who and where the hero is."

"The question is…who is the hero?" Dipper asked. "The Thousand-Year Door…it might have something to do with this. Maybe we were really destined to come here."

"Then that means that our friends must be out there." Pacifica said. "We have to find the rest of them, and maybe helping Mario find the Crystal Stars will also help us figure all of this out…and hopefully find our way back home."

"…we can't dwell on this anymore tonight." Dipper said. "Let's get some rest. Tomorrow night, we meet out here again, but with Candy and Wendy as well."

"Sounds like a plan." Pacifica said.

They both crept back inside of the Glitz Pit and back to their respective dormitories. Dipper climbed into his bed and put the paper in his pocket. The glowing icons might mean his friends were close, but he could be wrong. His eyes became heavy, and with one final blink, he drifted off to sleep.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Finally, I got this chapter done! I'll mainly be writing this story during the season break of Gravity Falls: Sinnoh Adventure, as Season 2 of that story just ended. Also, did anyone else consider the Goomba Bros to be major jerks with that cheating move in the beginning? I felt what Dipper had to say was what they have deserved for a long, looong while.**

**In this chapter, the heroes signed up as fighters in the Glitz Pit! Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, and Candy are now part of Team Orion, while Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie are now part of Team Gonzales. Team Orion reserved their first match against the Goomba Bros, with Team Orion emerging as the victor! Then, later in the night, after the gang went to bed, Dipper and Pacifica took a look at Dipper's mysterious cryptic cipher paper, finding eight of the markings in color with a ninth and tenth marking glowing, though neither of them knew what markings the glowing ones were. What could this mean?**

**I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	19. Chapter 3 - Part 3: The New Attraction

**Hey guys, 087-B here with a new chapter of this story. In the last chapter, the heroes became fighting teams at the Glitz Pit, with Dipper (now known as the Mighty Orion), Pacifica, Wendy, and Candy making up Team Orion, and Mario (now known as the Great Gonzales), Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie making up Team Gonzales. Then, later in the night, Dipper told Pacifica about his cipher paper, and the two looked it over, coming up with the theory that were sent here for a reason…were they?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 3 - The New Attraction_

"SIX A.M.! UP AN' AT EM!"

Grubba's loud voice echoed throughout the Minor League dormitories through an intercom. Dipper grunted and rolled over in his bed, only to fall off of it and land face flat on the floor. He quickly pulled himself up and spat dust out of his mouth. He looked around. Everyone looked tired and miserable, and he couldn't blame them.

"Yo, O-Dog." Dipper turned to see King K. "We gonna fight today or what, man?" Dipper smirked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"You're on." He said. All of the boys left the dormitories and went into their respective Minor League locker rooms. Once inside, Dipper walked over to the terminal and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Then Grubba's face appeared on the screen.

"Howdy, Mighty Orion! You here to reserve a match? You must be pretty ambitious, wanting to rise to fame so quickly." He said. Dipper nodded. "Well let's see…" Grubba looked through some papers. "Ah, here you are! You'll be going up against Rank #18 in the Glitz Pit, the KP Koopas!"

"Just who I wanted to go up against." Dipper said. "What's today's special rule?"

"Well, son, I'm glad you asked!" Grubba said. "In this battle, I want you and your teammates to avoid attacking your opponent for three full turns. That last match of yours was too short, and folks don't like seeing one-sided battles, so make sure that the audience can experience a real battle, okay?" Dipper nodded, although he was unsure of what a 'full turn' was. "Now then, King K!" Dipper stepped back and allowed King K to stand in front of the terminal.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"In this battle, I want you to end it in five turns or less. A quicker battle is the way folks like to see it, and besides, I've got a hot date with a chickadee that I don't wanna miss." Grubba said. King K nodded. "Okay then, in ten minutes, your match will begin!" Then the terminal shut off.

'Geez, what a hypocrite.' Dipper thought. "…wait, what does he mean by three full turns?"

"A full turn is when every fighter on one team makes an action." King K explained. "I've got a Team of three, including me, so if I were to attack and my other buddies defended, that would be a full turn for my team. Got it, dog?"

"I think I do, yeah…" Dipper replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" King K said. "Let's get fighting!"

:::::

Team Orion took their places on the left side of the stage in the Glitz Pit fighting ring. Across from them on the right side of the stage was King K and another yellow Koopa, as well as a yellow Paratroopa. Goombella, who was sitting in the Minor League locker room with the rest of Team Gonzales and was watching the match view the terminal, checked her Tattle Log.

"Well, King K and his pal are KP Koopas, and their flying friend is a KP Paratroopa." She said, quoting her Tattle Log. Then she put it away and continued to watch the match.

"Alright everyone! It's time for the first Minor League match of the day!" Grubba said. The audience cheered. "On the left side of the ring, we have the mighty Greek gladiator, the Mighty Orion!" Dipper waved to the audience as he took out his staff. The audience cheered for him and his team. "And over on the right side, we have the shell machines of doom…" He paused. "Yep, it's a fight to the finish with the KP Koopas!"

"Hey, O-Dog! Good luck, man!" King K called out.

"To you as well!" Dipper called back.

"Now let's get ready to…" Grubba paused. "BAAAAAAATLE!"

"Alright guys!" Dipper said to his team. "We have to let the enemy team attack for three turns before we can do anything! Use those turns to prepare and defend!"

King K shot out his shell towards Dipper, who used his staff to deflect the attack and defend himself. The KP Paratroopa darted towards Candy. She tried to defend with her rod but she took the hit and fell to the ground. She stood up and pulled out a regular Mushroom and ate it, recovering some her HP. The unnamed KP Koopa shot itself towards Pacifica, but she shoved her scepter forward and smacked the shell away, sending the KP Koopa back over to its side of the ring.

"Wow folks!" Grubba said into his microphone. "That was what we in the ring call a Grade-A Super-Guard!" The audience cheered again.

King K then shot himself towards Wendy, but she guarded against the attack by using one of her hands that she created by use of the Power Plus Badge.

"Alright, that's one turn down for both teams…" Dipper muttered. "Alright! Everyone defend!" Everyone prepared themselves for this turn. Pacifica, Candy, and Dipper were attacked, but luckily they managed to defend themselves with Pacifica landing another successful Super-Guard.

"That's two turns now." Wendy said. "One more turn of defending and then we can attack!"

"I have an idea for when we may deal some damage." Candy said.

"Come on guys, let's defend for one more turn!" Pacifica said. This turn, Wendy, Candy, and Pacifica were attacked and they defended successfully. Pacifica managed to pull off a third successful Super-Guard.

"Alright guys, we can attack now!" Dipper said.

"I have an idea!" Candy said. She took out the Emerald Star they had gotten from the Great Tree in Boggly Woods. She focused all of energy into the star to use its power. **"Clock Out!" **She threw the Emerald Star into the air and a large bomb with a green star fell on top of her. She threw the bomb over to the enemy team and it exploded, causing them to freeze in time.

"Whoa, so that's the power inside of the Emerald Star…" Dipper said. "Now's our chance to finish this fight!" Dipper readied his Fire Drive badge. **"Fire Drive!" **Dipper swung the newly transformed hammer-staff and hit the falling fireball. It went soaring in the air before hitting the ground and becoming a wave of fire the attacked and knocked out both King K and his unnamed partner.

"Here we go!" Pacifica jumped up with her scepter, but she activated a badge in the process. Her scepter transformed into a large, glowing blue hammer with multiple dark blue spikes around it. She brought it down on the KP Paratroopa, defying Frankly's logic from way back in the Rogueport Sewers. **"Piercing Blow!"** The attack managed to knock out the KP Paratroopa, winning Team Orion the match. Pacifica's scepter returned to normal as she, along with the rest of Team Orion, returned to the left side of the stage. King K and his team returned to normal as they lay dazed on the floor of the stage.

"Well it looks like the winner is Team Orion!" Grubba said. "Nice job out there, you four!"

"We did it!" Dipper held up a thumbs up to the audience. "Game, set, and match!"

:::::

"Well, here is your fight money." Jolene handed each of the members of Team Orion 3 coins for their win. "Have a good day now." She adjusted her glasses and left the Minor League locker room.

"Well, O-Dog, you did great out there." King K said as he walked over to Dipper. "You were, like, the strongest handicapped fighter I've ever seen, dude."

"Thanks, King K." Dipper said. "You weren't too shabby yourself."

"Thanks, man." King K said. "Good luck in your future battles." Then Bandy Andy walked in.

"You guys see that giant sheet out there?" He asked.

"What giant sheet?" Dipper asked.

"Folks are saying that a new attraction is opening up, but I frankly can't tell what it will be." Andy replied. "Go have a look, it's just South outside of the Glitz Pit."

Team Orion and Team Gonzales walked out of the Glitz Pit, and sure enough, there was a giant light-blue colored tent like structure. It had a small entry way and a star on top with an eye on it. Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie didn't seem to know what it was, even as they approached it, but Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, and Candy recognized it all too well.

"No way…" Dipper began. "That's the…it can't be!"

"What's THAT doing here?!" Pacifica asked in shock. Then a loud voice sounded over a megaphone.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GOOMBAS AND KOOPAS ALIKE!" It said. "MAY I PRESENT TO YOU…" All of the citizens of Glitzville were now surrounding the structure.

"Oh dear god…" Dipper muttered. "No, it can't be…not HIM." A small figure stepped out from the tent. The figure had a blue suit and was holding the megaphone, but the figure's most striking feature was its large, upright, white pompadour.

"LIL' GIDEON'S TENT OF TELEPATHY!"

:::::

A large, gruff figure walked through the lobby of the Glitz Pit. The figure was followed by Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson. The gruff figure stopped in front of the fighting schedule with the teens stopping as well. A few of the fans around recognized them.

"No way!" A male Toad said. "Those teenagers are part of Team Lee!"

"Isn't it weird that the leader of the team named it after himself?" A female Toad asked the male Toad.

"Yeah, but those guys are in the Major League!" The male Toad replied.

"Isn't that bigger guy on his own?" The female Toad asked.

"Yeah, he's in a higher part of the Major League." The Male Toad said.

"So, this new fighter is rising up fast…" The gruff figure said. He had a muscular accent. "The Mighty Orion, eh? I'm a fan of Greek culture, he has good tastes."

"People don't just rise up a few ranks in a day." Lee said. "This fighter must be pretty strong."

"Sadly he's in the Minor League, so we can't watch him fight." The gruff figure said. He took a breath and began thinking. The room went quiet as the fans watched him think.

"You know…" He finally said.

"…I think I'm going to reserve a match with him."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Whoa, Gideon sure does get around…wait, why is he even here?! You'll find out soon…**

**Anyways, quite a bit of stuff happened this chapter. Team Orion battled the KP Koopas and won, bringing them up to Rank #18, and then they found a new attraction outside of the Glitz Pit in central Glitzville. This attraction was, of course, the Tent of Telepathy, owned by Gideon, but…what is he doing here? Wasn't he with Bowser? And to top it off, a strange new fighter has planned to reserve a fight with the Mighty Orion…who could it be? All of these questions will be answered soon, I can promise that, but for now…wait until the next chapter!**

**I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	20. Chapter 3 - Part 4: Rank Risers

**Hey guys, 087-B here with a new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door! I'm updating this a lot, aren't I?**

**In the last chapter, Team Orion ranked up to Rank #18 after beating King K and his gang, the KP Koopas. Then, the eight heroes found out that Gideon has arrived in Glitzville and has opened the Tent of Telepathy there! Why would he be in Glitzville? Is Bowser there too? And who is the mysterious fighter who wanted to battle Dip- I mean, the Mighty Orion? All of these questions will be answered soon…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 4 - Rank Risers_

The line for the Tent of Telepathy quickly became long, so the eight heroes had to wait in line. It took some time, but they eventually got to the entrance of the tent. Once they got to the entrance, Gideon turned to greet them.

"Well hello there-" He stopped as his eyes widened. "Y-You?!"

"What are you doing here?!" Dipper asked.

"I could very well ask the same for you!" Gideon glared at Dipper.

"It appears you two have some bad blood." Mario said. Dipper gave out a sigh.

"Yeah, I'll need to forget about the bad blood we have." He said.

"Who are these people?" Gideon asked. He recognized Dipper, obviously, as well as Wendy, Pacifica, and Candy, but these four other faces were completely new to him.

"I'm Mario!" Mario said.

"The name's Goombella!" Goombella said.

"Um, I'm Koops." Koops said.

"I'm Flurrie." Flurrie said.

"Are these friends of yours?" Gideon asked.

"Yeah, they are." Dipper answered. "And boy, do we have a story to tell you."

"You mean you know what's going on and where we are?" Gideon asked. Dipper nodded.

"Believe me…you won't believe me when I'm done."

:::::

"…and so we have to collect all seven of the Crystal Stars to find the way to Princess Peach as well as Mabel, and hopefully find the rest of the residents of Gravity Falls along the way. Then we open the Thousand-Year Door and hopefully find a way home." Dipper finished telling the story.

"Wow, what a story." Gideon said.

"Can you help us?" Pacifica asked.

"I'd loved to." Gideon said.

"So come with us." Dipper said.

"…no, I think I'll stay here." Gideon said.

"What? Why?" Wendy asked. "We need all the help we can get…even if it means recruiting you."

"Well for one thing, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a group with a bunch of weaklings and weirdoes." Gideon said. Dipper held in his anger.

'I'm gonna kick your ass…' He thought angrily.

"Besides, you can't even really do anything." Gideon said. "Taking down that dragon and robot? Heh, pure luck."

"…if you really think we're that weak, then why don't you watch the Glitzville channel in about 15 minutes?" Dipper said in annoyed tone, gritting his teeth.

"Fine, if I have to." Gideon said, rolling his eyes. Dipper smirked and turned to the rest of the heroes.

"Come on then, guys. Let's head back to the Glitz Pit and reserve a match." He said. The eight heroes walked off back towards the Glitz Pit and Gideon scoffed and walked back inside of the Tent of Telepathy.

:::::

The heroes reentered the Glitz Pit, then entered the Minor League locker room. Dipper walked up to the terminal and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Grubba's face appeared on the terminal screen.

"Well howdy, Mighty Orion! Fixin' for a fight, are ya?" He asked. Dipper nodded. "Well then, let's see here…" Grubba checked a sheet of paper. "Look's like you'll be going up against Rank #17 in the Glitz Pit, the Pokey Triplets!"

'I wonder what a Pokey is…' Dipper thought.

"Now listen, son." Grubba said. "In this battle, I want you to finish the battle in 3 turns or less! Folks got things to do, so a quick match oughta energize 'em!" Dipper nodded, then the terminal shut off.

"So, you ready to prove Gideon wrong?" Dipper asked his team. They nodded.

"Why do you hate this 'Gideon' kid so much?" Goombella asked.

"It's a long story." Dipper said. "But he was arrested before this whole new dimension incident so I wonder how he managed to get free…or even get into Glitzville."

"It's clear he has some knowledge of this dimension." Pacifica said. "My question is how he knows about all of this…" A security guard then entered the locker room.

"Match time, bubs." He said. "Let's go."

:::::

Team Orion took their spots of the left side of the arena. Across from them were three tall orange cactus like figures. Their bodies were made up of four, spiky spheres. The top of their bodies (their heads) had broken faces and three spikes protruding from the top.

'Those must be Pokeys.' Dipper thought.

"Well everyone, welcome to the next match of thee day!" Grubba said into his microphone. "Today we have the almighty Greek gladiator…THE MIGHTY ORION!" The audience cheered loudly. "And his opponent will be Rank #17 in the Glitz Pit, the spiked terror triplets…" He paused. "Yep, it's a fight to the finish with the Pokey Triplets!"

"Go ahead and touch usssssss…it won't hurrrrrrrrrrrrt….too muchhhhh…" The first Pokey said.

"Alright team." Dipper began. "Our special rule is to finish the match in 5 turns or less, so give it your all, and don't hesitate to use a Crystal Star power if necessary!"

"I shall make the first strike!" Candy readied her rod and charged forward. She spear-jabbed the first Pokey in its center. She smirked as the piece fell out of place, but the Pokey quickly retaliated and smacked her away with its spiked torso. "Time for me to heal…" She then took out a Mushroom and ate it, restoring some of her lost HP.

"Now it's my turn!" Pacifica darted forward an leaped into the air, bringing her scepter down on the second Pokey's head. It wobbled around dazed before falling off of the ring, knocked out. "Now that's what I'd call a critical hit!"

'These guys have spikes. Any kind of contact could hurt…' Wendy thought. Then she got an idea. "Try this on for size!" She threw out her fist and a transparent red fist appeared, flying towards the third Pokey. It made contact and punched it to pieces, knocking it out of the match.

The first Pokey threw one of its appendages (resulting in it now having only one appendage left as well as its head) at Dipper, who swiftly used his staff to Super-Guard the attack, sending the appendage back over to the Pokey. It knocked the last appendage away, resulting in the Pokey having only its head left.

"Hmm…I have an idea." Dipper activated his Quake Hammer badge. His staff transformed into a large, glowing purple hammer. He raised it up high. **"Quake Hammer!" **Dipper slammed the hammer down and the entire stage rumbled, causing the Pokey's head to go flying off of the stage and into the stands.

"Well look at that folks!" Grubba said. "Give it up for our winner, THE MIGHTY ORION!" The crowd cheered loudly as the Pokeys returned to their normal state.

:::::

Team Orion and Team Gonzales exited the Glitz Pit after their battle. They approached the Tent of Telepathy.

"So, Gideon." Dipper began with a smirk on his face. "What do you think about us now?"

"Huh? Oh, I didn't watch it." Gideon replied nonchalantly. They all stared in disbelief. Gideon smirked. "I'm just kidding. You all have…_some_ strength, I can tell you that."

"…well, some is good enough, I guess." Pacifica said. "After we get this Crystal Star, you're coming with us, though."

"I know that, but I will definitely not be helping on this quest." Gideon said.

"But you said you wanted to help earlier." Candy said.

"Oh, you know lil' old me." Gideon said. "I almost never stay true to my word."

"Why did you even set up the Tent of Telepathy here anyway?" Wendy asked. "How did you even get to Glitzville? We didn't see you here when we first got here."

"Those are stories for another time." Gideon said. "Now go on and continue fighting for that Crystal Star, or whatever."

:::::

For the rest of the day, Team Orion and Team Gonzales continued fighting, following every special rule correctly. They won many battles and racked up a large amount of fight money. Their ranks by the end of the day were Team orion at Rank #12 and Team Gonzales at Rank #13. Dipper walked up to the terminal in the Minor League locker room again to reserve another match. He turned the terminal on and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Grubba's face appeared on the screen.

"I already know what you wanna do, Mighty Orion." Grubba said. "You wanna reserve a match, right?"

"Yep, you got that right." Dipper said.

"Well you can't." Grubba said. "Sorry."

"Huh? Why?" Dipper asked.

"Well, it's simple, really." Grubba replied. "A fighter from the Major Leagues wants to fight ya!"

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Wow, I'm writing chapters for this story faster than there are new episodes of Gravity Falls.**

**Well, Gideon is still a jerk, and Team Orion has risen up in the ranks, as well as Team Gonzales. Team Orion is now at Rank #12, and Team Gonzales is now at Rank #13. I wonder what lies ahead for our heroes? I mean, they are getting closer to the Crystal Star.**

**I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	21. Chapter 3 - Part 5: The Lumberjack

**Writing out chapters faster than waiting for Season 2 of Gravity Falls, it's 087-B here with a new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door. You know, I've heard the Season 2 of Gravity Falls will premiere on August 1, 2014. Sounds like a pretty special date, right? Maybe something else might premiere that date as well…**

**In the last chapter, the gang found Gideon, who mysteriously arrived in Glitzville. Team Orion battled in the Glitz Pit and rose to Rank #17 to show off their strength to Gideon, who merely scoffed at them. Then, after a few more battles that day, resulting in Team Orion at Rank #12 and Team Gonzales at Rank #13, Grubba has told Dipper that a fighter from the Major Leagues wants to battle…who could it be? I think you'll be surprised…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 5 - Against The Lumberjack_

"Wait, what?" Dipper asked. "You mean…we have to fight someone from the Major Leagues?!"

"Yep!" Grubba replied. "You're going up against Rank #6 in the Glitz Pit, the Lumberjack!"

'Oh man…' Dipper started feeling lightheaded at the thought of someone from the Major Leagues beating him and his team to a pulp.

"No need to worry about a special rule this time." Grubba said. "This isn't an official match, so winning or losing won't affect anybodies rankings." Then the terminal shut off.

"Well isn't this just dandy." Dipper said sarcastically, sitting down on the bench. "Looks like Team Orion is fighting a Major League fighter."

"Whoa, how did THAT happen?" Goombella asked.

"Maybe the fighter asked to battle you guys." Koops suggested.

"Don't worry about it too much, you'll be fine." Mario said. "This battle could be tough though, so be careful."

"And don't forget that we'll be cheering you all on from the stands." Flurrie said. A security guard appeared in the room.

"Match time bub, get out there." He said.

:::::

"Well folks, have I got an exciting match for you today!" Grubba said. The stands were a lot more packed than usual and the audience was going wild. "This match will be our rising star of the Minor Leagues, the Mighty Orion, against Rank #6 in the Glitz Pit, the Lumberjack!" The audience cheered loudly. "The Mighty Orion and his team should be here shortly, but first, let's introduce…" He paused. "THE LUMBERJACK!" The tall, gruff figure from before jumped onto the stage and let out a war cry, cracking his knuckles. The audience went wild.

Meanwhile, in the Major League locker room, Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson were preparing to watch the match on the terminal.

"Thompson, get over here." Lee said. "The match is about to start." Thompson was too busy eating a meal from the Juice Bar that consisted of a large amount of Shroom Steaks and Shroom Roasts.

"Huh? Oh right." Thompson said, his mouth full of a roasted shroom bite. He walked over to the bench where his friends were sitting and sat down on the end. He took out something wrapped in paper from his pocket.

"Thompson, what is that?" Nate asked curiously.

"…nothing…" Thompson slowly began to unwrap it, revealing a hotdog.

"You ordered one of Hoggle's hotdogs?" Nate asked. "Can't you just stop eating for one minute?"

"I spent ten coins on this!" Thompson retaliated. "I can't just not eat it!" Nate rolled his eyes.

"Fine, go ahead." He said. Tambry was still on her phone. "Tambry, get off of your phone. The match is about to start." Tambry ignored him and continued typing a status update.

Back at the ring, Grubba walked over to the Lumberjack and held the microphone up to him. "So, Lumberjack! How does it feel to be going up against a fast rising star?"

"Personally, I'm ready to take on whoever this 'Mighty Orion' guy is." The Lumberjack said. "But to be honest, I'm kind of a fan of him. The last time I've seen anyone rise up so fast in the ranks was when I joined this here Glitz Pit." Then the arena doors on the left side opened, four figures walking in.

"It looks like Team Orion is here!" Grubba said.

"Ready team?" Dipper asked his teammates before they walked on stage. They nodded. Then he stepped up the stairs. "Let's get ready to knock this guy-" He stopped when he got to the top. His eyes widened as his staff fell to the floor. "…dead."

"What is it?" Pacifica asked. She and the rest of the team joined him on stage, and their eyes widened as well. The Lumberjack's eyes, which were wide in surprise, were still fixed on Dipper.

"L-Little girl?!" He asked, referring to the term he had used with Dipper once before.

"M-Manly Dan?!" Dipper asked in disbelief. Rank #6 in the Glitz Pit, the Lumberjack, was Manly Dan, the strongest man in Gravity Falls.

In the Major League locker room, Lee and Nate's mouths dropped. Even Tambry dropped her phone in complete shock, her hands fixed in place where her phone used to be. Thompson stared in shock before his hotdog fell to the ground.

"Damn it!" He said.

Back at the ring, both Team Orion and Manly Dan barely made a move. They simply stared at each other in shock.

"Let's get ready to…" Grubba paused. "BAAAAAATLE!" Nobody made a move, and the audience stopped cheering and went silent in confusion. "Um, I said let's get ready to battle. You guys okay?"

"…dad…" Wendy muttered. "DAD!" She threw herself at her father and hugged him, tears streaming down her face. Manly Dan hugged his daughter back, almost thinking this was a dream. "I can't believe it's you…"

"And I can't believe it's you, baby girl." Manly Dan said.

"…I have an idea." Dipper said. "Pacifica, Wendy, and Candy…you three should sit this out."

"Wait, you are going to fight him?" Candy asked.

"Not really fight him, rather have a friendly match." Dipper replied.

"…I can agree with that." Manly Dan said. He looked at his daughter. "Wendy, after this match, I'll come see you."

"Right…" Wendy said. She took a step down from the stage, followed by Candy and Pacifica. Dipper and Manly Dan walked towards the center of the stage and shook hands, ready for battle. They went back to their respective sides and prepared themselves. Dipper had his staff ready, and Manly Dan cracked his knuckles again. He obviously was going to use his fists rather than a weapon.

"Be warned, little girl; when I fight, I only use my right hand…" Manly Dan paused. "The MANLY HAND!"

"Well I've got news for you, Manly Dan." Dipper said with a smirk. "I'm a boy, not a girl." He readied his staff and sprinted forwards, starting the battle.

"You think that measly stick is gonna do anything to ol' Manly Dan?" Manly Dan asked with a smirk.

"I'll have you know this ain't no measly stick!" Dipper activated Power Smash and the staff transformed into a large gray hammer. A gray aura radiated off of it. Manly Dan barely had time to react before Dipper swung the hammer. He placed his hand out and the spiked tip of the side of the hammer pierced his palm, blocking the attack. He winced a bit before pushing forwards, shoving Dipper back.

"The Lumberjack has successfully guarded against the attack!" Grubba said.

"Try this on for size!" Dipper said. He pulled out the Diamond Star which the crowd marveled at. Manly Dan was a bit confused. **"Earth Tremor!" **Dipper threw the star up into the air. It came slamming down on the stage, causing a massive fissure. Dipper was unaffected but Manly Dan was flung backwards, a lot of damage dealt.

"You've gotten tougher since I last saw you, little girl." Manly Dan taunted after getting up. "Wonder what you've been doing."

"Just saving this world, that's all." Dipper said. Manly Dan charged towards Dipper, ready to punch him, when Dipper activated another badge. **"Damage Dodge!" **A large glowing purple diamond appeared in front of Dipper. Manly Dan's hand made contact with the diamond and shattered it, blocking the attack and using up his turn. Then Dipper swung his staff, smacking Manly Dan away.

"Hold on, hold on." Manly Dan said. "This match is over. We don't need to be fightin' whether it's friendly or not."

"…I couldn't agree more." Dipper said.

:::::

After everything got resolved with Grubba, Team Orion and Team Gonzales met up with Manly Dan outside of the Glitz Pit.

"Well, I guess it's time to explain everything to him." Pacifica said to Dipper.

"Right." Dipper said. "Manly Dan, I have one question."

"What is it?" Manly Dan asked. This was one of those rare moments when he was serious.

"Do you know where we are?" Dipper asked. "And I don't mean the Glitz Pit or Glitzville, I mean in general."

"…to be honest, I don't know." Manly Dan replied. "Do you?"

"Yes, actually." Dipper said. "It might be hard to believe, but…just hear me out on the story I'm about to tell you."

"…okay." Manly Dan said. Dipper took a breath before he began.

"My sister Mabel and I were in the Gravity Falls forest looking for a strange green tube that had showed up on a page in this journal." Dipper explained, showing Manly Dan the Journal #3. "The page wasn't there before, and when we found the tube, it wasn't there before either. The tube sucked everyone from Gravity Falls inside, into this whole other dimension or world or whatever. I woke up on a raft after Pacifica saved me, and we were in the middle of the ocean. We ended up in a town called Rogueport where we met this man named Mario. These evil guys called the X-Nauts are hunting for these gems called the Crystal Stars, and they have my sister and the princess of this realm, Princess Peach, held hostage, hoping to get information out of them. We have two Crystal Stars out of seven and we are here hunting for the third. Along the way we rescued Wendy from a dragon that had the first Crystal Star and we found Candy while searching for the second Crystal Star. Now, while hunting for the third, we've found you." He took a breath. "My question to you is this: If we find all seven Crystal Stars, we might find the residents of Gravity Falls along the way, as well as a way home maybe, so I must ask…will you help us?"

Manly Dan was silent for a while…a long while. He kept thinking this over, trying to comprehend the situation at hand. Did he want to go on an adventure to try and get back home? Or did he want to stay here where he could express himself with who he was; the strongest man in Gravity Falls? Finally, he smiled.

"…I'll help you guys." He said. The rest of the gang smiled.

"That means you must understand what is going on, right?" Candy asked.

"I sort of understand the situation." Manly Dan said. "I've also been thinking…maybe I should drop out of the Glitz Pit, then rejoin on your team."

"That sounds great!" Wendy said.

"Of course I still have to talk with the prompter about that." Manly Dan said, his smile fading. "But if I'm able to do that, I'll join Team Orion as soon as possible." He smiled again. Then Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson burst out of the Glitz Pit.

"Wait, you guys are here too?!" Wendy asked in shock.

"Wendy!" The four teens said in unison.

"Wow, it's great to see you guys!" Lee said. "That battle was epic, and it looks like Dr. Funtimes has gotten a lot tougher!" Dipper chuckled sheepishly.

"You did awesome out there, man!" Nate fist bumped Dipper.

"You guys showing up was enough to make me drop my phone." Tambry said. "Bad thing is the screen is cracked now, so don't make big arrivals like that ever again."

"You guys also owe me a hotdog." Thompson said in an annoyed tone. "I dropped it when you guys showed up." The gang laughed a bit.

"Oh that's right, you guys haven't met our new friends." Wendy said.

"I'm Mario!" Mario said.

"The name's Goombella!" Goombella said.

"Um, I'm Koops." Koops said.

"And I am Madame Flurrie, but you may simply call me Flurrie." Flurrie said.

"Nice to meet you four." Manly Dan said to his new friends. Suddenly they heard some screaming and squealing. Manly Dan stood up. "Hey Hoggle! Keep it down, will ya?!"

"How can I stay calm when there's an egg on my roof?!" Hoggle shouted back. Hoggle was a pig who worked as a food vendor at his hotdog cart in Glitzville. There was indeed an egg on the roof of his cart. It had three spots on it; one yellow, one magenta, and one blue.

"Why do you have an egg, Mr. Hoggle?" Dipper asked.

"I was planning on adding tropical-dogs to the menu." Hoggle said. "I imported this egg from a southern island, but now it won't stay still!" Thompson's mouth watered at the thought of a tropical hotdog. Wendy rolled her eyes.

'Only you would find that delicious, Thompson.' She thought

"Let me handle this…" Manly Dan stood up and walked over to the left side of the cart. He punched it hard, making a dent. The egg jumped off of the roof and into his grasp. "There we go."

"Great! Now may I have it back?" Hoggle asked.

"This little guy doesn't wanna be cooked, Hoggle." Manly Dan said.

"…oh fine, you can keep him. People wouldn't like an egg that's been jumping around anyway." Hoggle said. "But at least pay for the damage you did to my cart." Manly Dan ignored him and walked back towards the Glitz Pit. "Hey! Get back here and pay for the damages!"

"I'll hold on to this guy for now." Manly Dan said to the others, who agreed with him.

:::::

It was late at night and the Minor League guys and girls were preparing for bed in their dormitories. Team Orion and Team Gonzales fought one more battle each that day, bringing Team Orion up to Rank #11 and Team Gonzales up to Rank #12. Dipper was taking off his hat and vest when King K approached him.

"Hey dude, have you seen Andy around?" He asked. "He snoops around a lot, but he's never gone this late."

"Nope, sorry King K." Dipper said.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find him." King K said. Then he left the Minor League dormitory. Dipper climbed into his bed.

'I can't believe Manly Dan is here. It's ironic considering he's a tough guy and all.' He thought. 'And now an egg has come in to play. I wonder what will hatch from it…' He yawned. 'Tomorrow we take on Rank #10 to try and get into the Major Leagues. I hope we're able to do it…' He yawned again before drifting off to sleep with one final thought.

'I hope…'

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**So the Lumberjack is Manly Dan, the battle resulted in a draw based on both sides resigning from the match, Manly Dan is considering leaving his position as Rank #6 and joining Team Orion, and the group got a mysterious egg! Talk about a lot of stuff happening!**

**I did some planning ahead for this arc and it looks like it will be quite a bit longer than I expected. That means a lot more content for you guys, though, so that's a plus, I guess. Oh, and I bet you readers might have a question in your mind: If you have to defeat the Armored Harriers (which are coming up soon) to enter the Major Leagues, how did Manly Dan defeat them along with Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson? That, my friends, will be answered soon.**

**I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	22. Chapter 3 - Part 6: The Big Leagues

**Hoorah, another chapter! I'm really fast with updates to this story, huh?**

**In the last chapter, Manly Dan appeared, and then the group got an egg…that's about it, really. Manly Dan is considering joining Team Orion, and what could be inside the egg? Only time will tell…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 6 - A Shot At The Big Leagues_

"SIX AM! UP AND AT'EM, THE PARK'S OPENING!"

Grubba's voice once again echoed throughout the Minor League dormitories. Dipper awoke and climbed out of his bed, grabbing his vest, hat, and staff. He followed Mario and Koops down to the Minor League locker room where the girls were waiting. Wendy was holding the egg from before. Manly Dan probably gave it to her. When they got there, they noticed King K was absent.

"Where's King K?" Koops asked.

"We don't know, he didn't come in earlier." Goombella said. "Is he back at the dorms?"

"Nope, he left last night in search of Bandy Andy and never came back." Dipper said. "Maybe the two will turn up soon." He noticed Candy was absent too. "Wait, where's Candy?"

"Here I am!" Candy suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to Pacifica, startling the others.

"I taught her how to flip into paper before we went to bed last night." Pacifica said.

"I also know the power of turning into a paper airplane!" Candy said happily.

"That's good. It will be useful later." Dipper said. "Well team, today is the day we fight for a spot on the Major Leagues."

"We've been doing pretty well lately." Wendy said. "We should be able to win this next fight."

"Let me go reserve it." Pacifica said. She walked over to the terminal and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Grubba's face appeared on the screen.

"Well howdy there! You're part of Team Orion, right?" Grubba asked.

"Yep! I'm here to reserve us a match!" Pacifica said.

"Well then, let me see who you'll be up against…" Grubba looked through some papers. "Aha! You'll be going up against Rank #10 in the Glitz Pit, the Armored Harriers! You're finally gonna make a go at the Major Leagues!" He put the papers down. "Now your special rule for this fight is to appeal to the crowd at least once. You know, show off to the audience, give them a taste of your good side. See you out on the ring!" Then the terminal shut off.

"So what is our special rule?" Candy asked.

"Appeal to the crowd at least once." Pacifica said. Then a security guard walked in.

"Match time, bub." He said. "Get out there."

"Can someone watch the egg for me?" Wendy asked.

"Don't BOMB worry." Master Crash said. "I'll BOMB look after it BAM."

:::::

"And now…today's main event!" Grubba said into his microphone. "The Major League awaits the 11th-ranked Mighty Orion…" He paused. "But only if he can beat the 10th-ranked powerhouses…The Iron Adonis Twins!" The crowd cheered loudly. "First, let's get the Greek Gladiator in here, folks! THE MMMMIGHTY ORION!"

Team Orion entered the arena and walked down the line to the stage. They walked up the stairs and on to the stage. The audience cheered as Team Orion waved and bowed to them. In the stands, Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Lee, Nate, Tambry, Thompson, and Manly Dan were cheering for their friends. Grubba approached Dipper and held the microphone up to him.

"Hooooooooo-WEEEEEEEEEE! The Mighty Orion! How're you feelin'?" He asked. Dipper was about to reply when he belched loudly into the microphone. His face reddened in embarrassment afterwards. "Whoa nelly! You heard the fella, folks! He's obviously itchin' to mix it up some!"

Then the door on the right of the arena opened, and two large clefts walked in. Their bodies were blue-gray and their spikes were dull. They were bigger than normal clefts, and one of them had green shoes while the other had red shoes. They walked down the line and jumped on to the stage. Grubba turned off the microphone and approached them.

"Hyuk hyuk! Your challenger is real confident, boys! Yep, he's talkin' trash…" He lied. "'Iron Adonis Twins?' he said. 'More like Paper Dog-Face Bros.! …And they stink!'" The Armored Harriers took offense to Grubba's lies. "And then he said: 'I bet they just play video games an' cry when they lose!' Um, yeah, and then he said…'Outie belly buttons run in their family! Stinkwads!'…and so on. Yep."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The Red-booted cleft shouted. "How does he know Mom has an outie? That jerk! We're gonna blend you up into a smoothie, pal! And then we're gonna drink ya!" He took a breath. "Oh, and one more thing…Only smelly stinkwads call other people stinkwads! Understand, stinkwad?"

"Simmer down there, bro." The Green-booted cleft said. He turned to Team Orion. "You! Stinkwad! You're gonna regret opening your yap, pal! See these bods? Solid iron. See these spikes? Yeah, they penetrate any substance. So, basically what I'm telling you is that whatever you try will be completely useless. Think that over in the very short time you have left with a functional brain."

"What is he talking about?" Dipper asked his team. They all shrugged. Grubba turned on his microphone and walked back to the center of the stage in front of the screen.

"Get yourselves ready to…" He paused. "BAAAAAATTLE!"

"Well guys, let's do this!" Dipper said. "It's time we move up to the Major Leagues!"

"Heh heh, better give up now!" The Red-booted cleft shouted.

"Well, stinkwads, you're about to learn about our skills the hard way." The Green-booted cleft said.

The Red-booted cleft charged forwards towards Wendy. She readied herself to defend, but the cleft clammed into her and sent her flying off of the arena, unable to battle anymore.

"I-I'm out…" She said weakly. Manly Dan stared wide-eyed at what happened to his daughter.

'Whoa, these guys are tougher than I thought…' Dipper thought. "Try this on for size!" Dipper charged forward with his staff and activated the Power Smash badge. His staff transformed into the giant steel hammer. Remembering that they had to appeal to the audience at least once, Dipper jumped into the air and did a flip before bringing the hammer down on the Red-booted cleft. **"Power Smash!" **The hammer made contact, but Dipper went wide-eyed when he saw the outcome. Not a single dent or scratch was made on the enemy, and Dipper had barely any time to react before the Green-booted cleft appeared and rammed into him, sending him to the ground on his side of the stage and unable to get up.

"These guys are impossible to beat!" Pacifica said.

"Maybe the power of the Crystal Stars will help us here?" Candy suggested.

"Yeah, maybe those will help!" Pacifica agreed. Candy took out the Emerald Star.

"**Clock Out!" **She threw the star into the air and a bomb with a green star on it fell down in its place. Candy caught it well it was in the air, then threw it over to the Iron Clefts. It exploded upon contact but they weren't frozen in time. The Red-booted cleft then rammed into Candy. She tried to Super-Guard but failed, and she ended up being knocked off of the stage, defeated. Pacifica quickly pulled out the Diamond Star, ready to use its power.

"**Earth Tremor!" **She threw the star upwards and it came slamming down onto the stage, causing a massive fissure. The Iron Clefts were dazed but they took no damage. Then the Green-booted cleft rammed into Pacifica, sending her to floor defeated.

"There you have it, folks!" Grubba said. "Looks like the winners are the Armored Harriers!"

"That's what you get for messing with us, stinkwads!" The Red-booted cleft shouted. Cheers and boos came from the audience.

:::::

Team Orion, led by Jolene, walked back into the Minor League locker room in a daze.

"That went terrible…" Pacifica said.

"I'm beat." Wendy said, weakly sitting down on the bench.

"We should just give up now." Dipper said, trying to catch his breath.

"We cannot give up now!" Candy said. "We must fight to claim the champ's belt and attain the Crystal Star!" Jolene let out a small gasp at the mention of the Crystal Star but made sure nobody heard it.

"You all did your best. Sorry about your loss." Jolene said. "I hope you do better next time." She adjusted her glasses, then left the room. Then Team Gonzales entered, followed by Manly Dan and Team Lee.

"Sorry about the match guys." Koops said.

"Those guys are really strong. I wonder if they're invincible." Goombella said. "The Tattle Log does say that their defense are unknown."

"They must have some kind of weakness." Lee said.

"Wait a second, you guys are in the Major League." Pacifica said. "Can't you tell us how you beat them?" They were about to reply when Manly Dan spoke first.

"Where did the egg go?" He asked, noticing the egg was gone. They looked around before hearing a high pitched voice.

"Yo!" It said. They all turned to see a small little black reptile creature with red hair, gray shorts, and yellow boots.

"Whoa, a Yoshi hatched from the egg!" Koops said.

"A Yoshi?" Dipper asked.

"Dinosaur creatures native to the Mushroom Kingdom." Mario explained.

"Manly Dan, it was your egg, so…" Pacifica said.

"It's my Yoshi, then." Manly Dan said.

"I guess you're my dad, huh?" The Yoshi walked up to Manly Dan.

"I guess so." Manly Dan said. "The question is what to name you, little guy…" he thought for a moment. "You shall now be known as Little Dan, my future successor, and my new son." He smiled, and Little Dan the Yoshi kid smiled back.

"Wait…this Yoshi is my brother now?" Wendy asked. Little Dan did a flutter-kick to elevate himself up to Wendy.

"Hi sis, nice to meet ya." He said.

"So, Wendy." Manly Dan turned to his daughter. "Have you come across anyone else from our world?"

"We've found Gideon." Wendy said. "That sleazy jerk."

"Maybe we'll come across more along the way." Manly Dan said. "I've also made my decision."

"What decision?" Mario asked.

"I'm stepping down from my spot on the Major Leagues." Manly Dan said. "And I'm joining Team Orion."

:::::

Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, Candy, Manly Dan, Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie and Little Dan all entered Grubba's office, surprising him.

"Well if it isn't the Mighty Orion, the Great Gonzales, and the Lumberjack!" He said. "What brings y'all in here?"

"I have a request, Mr. Grubba." Manly Dan said. "I want to step down from my spot to join Team Orion."

"Okay, you can do that, but Team Orion will have to start over at Rank #21." Grubba said.

"WHAT?!" Dipper asked loudly and in shock.

"Heh! I'm just joking!" Grubba said. "Of course you can join the team, Lumberjack. Lemme just fill out the paperwork." He beginning writing things down on a sheet of paper, as well as erasing some things on another sheet of paper. "Alright, done! Anything else?"

"Yes, actually." Mario stepped forward. "We would like to add a team member as well." He held up Little Dan.

"Ah, a Yoshi kid, eh?" Grubba began filling out more paperwork. "Alright, done! Now get out there and fight, will ya?"

:::::

After they were done in Grubba's office, Team Orion and Team Gonzales returned to the Minor League locker room. Team Orion quickly reserved another match against the Armored Harriers, then proceeded to the ring, entering it and walking to the stage. Once they arrived, the Armored Harriers were there waiting for them.

"Oh look! The stinkwads have returned!" The Red-booted cleft said. "Ready for another lesson in pain?"

"Look, bro. They have a new teammate!" The Green-booted cleft said. "Wait a second…is that the Lumberjack?"

"Oh no, bro. This could be very bad for us." The Red-booted cleft said.

"Now let's get ready to…" Grubba paused. "BAAAAAATTLE!"

"Come on, bro!" The Green-booted cleft said. "Just cause the Lumberjack is here doesn't mean we'll lose like last time! It just means he's a stinkwad now!" He charged forwards towards Manly Dan.

"Hey, Pacifica." Manly Dan said.

"Um, yeah?" Pacifica asked.

"Remember when you asked how I got to the Major Leagues?" Manly Dan asked.

"Yeah, why?" Pacifica asked.

"This is how." Manly Dan said. When the Green-booted cleft got close, Manly Dan bent down and stuck out his palm. The Iron Cleft slammed into it, but Manly Dan only winced a bit in pain, stopping the attack. He twisted his arm so he could grab the spike of the cleft that stabbed him. Manly Dan let out a war cry as he lifted the cleft into the air without any struggle or hesitation. The audience was shocked, Team Orion was in disbelief, even Grubba was surprised a bit. Then Manly Dan threw the Green-booted cleft at the Red-booted cleft, causing serious damage to the both of them, enough to knock them off of the stage and defeat them.

"HOOOOO-WEEEE, FOLKS!" Grubba shouted. "THE WINNER IS TEAM ORION! GIVE IT UP FOR THESE NEW MAJOR LEAGUERS!" The audience cheered loudly as confetti fell from above, covering Team Orion.

:::::

Team Orion went back to the Minor League locker room for the final time before they went to the Major Leagues. Led by Ms. Jolene, she gave the crew 7 coins each.

"Now you will follow me to Mr. Grubba's office." Jolene said. "Once there, he will raise you to Rank #10. Then I shall take you to the Major League locker room." She adjusted her glasses, then began to leave the room.

"Well, it's been real guys." Pacifica said, then she followed Jolene.

"We'll see you guys soon, Gonzales." Wendy said to Mario. "Can't wait to see you in the Major Leagues." Then she followed Pacifica along with Candy, Dipper and Manly Dan.

They all entered Grubba's office. As soon as they did, Dipper swore he could hear a drawer shutting, but he shrugged it off.

"Ah! Team Orion! Congrats and all on making it to the Major Leagues!" Grubba said. "First of all, here's your pay for your success." He paid each team member 30 coins.

"Wow, this is a lot." Dipper said.

"Yep, and you'll be earning a lot more as well now that you're in the big leagues, son!" Grubba said. "Of course, that also means that the fights will be getting harder from here on out." He turned to his computer and began typing. "And I just move you to Rank #10 and…done!"

"Now what?" Pacifica asked.

"Now Ms. Jolene will take you to the Major League locker room." Grubba said.

"Certainly." Jolene said. "Now please, come with me." She adjusted her glasses and left the office along with the team.

:::::

They all walked down the hall for a bit before Jolene entered another room. This room was much more cleaner than the Minor League locker room. It had pristine white and red checkered flooring with marble walls and fixed up lockers. The benches had velvet cushioning and the bed was neatly made. A small table also was near the benches, and the terminal in this room was pink instead of purple.

"Wow, this place is pretty nice." Pacifica said.

"It is indeed a step up from the Minor Leagues." Candy said.

"This is where you shall reserve matches from now on." Jolene said. "Have a good day." She adjusted her glasses, then left the room.

They looked around. Not a single fighter said anything until…

"Nice! You guys made it!" Lee said. He, Nate, Tambry and Thompson approached Team Orion.

"Hey Lee." Wendy said, high-fiving Lee.

"Well, we're halfway to the Crystal Star now." Dipper said. "So let's keep on-" 

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's _that_?!" Nate asked. He pointed to Dipper's prosthetic foot and the others gasped, not noticing it before.

"Oh, my foot? Long story." Dipper said. "It's not important." Then Rawk Hawk burst into the room.

"Studly guy, coming through!" He said. The Crystal Star shined on his belt. "I heard some guy is rising up through the ranks faster than you can say 'Rawk Hawk is the Rawk'! Who is he?!"

"Um, that would be us." Dipper said. Rawk turned to face the members of Team Orion.

"Ha! You scrawny weaklings are the rising team?" He asked sarcastically. "Don't make me laugh!"

"Jeez, you're a jerk." Dipper said. Rawk then angrily grabbed him by the back of his shirt and picked him up into the air.

"You better watch your mouth, boy." He said. "If you don't, you're gonna taste the Rawk when you enter the ring against me."

"Wow, first you're a jerk, then you say we're gonna face you?" Dipper asked. "Man you're confusing." Then Tambry knelt down besides the champ's belt.

"Fake." She said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Pacifica asked.

"Hey! Get away from my belt, you brat!" Hawk said angrily.

'Dick.' Tambry thought. "This Crystal Star is made up of plastic and aluminum, and it's too small to match your description. This star ain't real."

"My belt ain't no star! It's a priceless item, not jewelry! I'm out!" Rawk said. He dropped Dipper to the ground, and with that he left the Major League locker room.

"So all this time we've been fighting for a star that isn't real?" Pacifica asked. "Now what are we gonna do?" Then a vibration was heard. Dipper got up and took out the Journal #3 from his backpack. It was vibrating and glowed a purple aura.

"Whoa, what's going on with that crazy book?" Thompson asked. Dipper opened it, and found a new message on an empty page.

"It's a message." Dipper said.

"Who is it from?" Candy asked.

"Someone called X, whoever that is." Dipper replied. They all gathered around to read the message.

_iF yOu WaNt ThE cRyStAl StAr, HeEd My InStRuCtIoNs._

_FrOm X_

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Manly Dan joins Team Orion, a black Yoshi hatched from the egg, Manly Dan named him Little Dan, Little Dan joins Team Gonzales, Team Orion beats the Armored Harriers and moves up to the Major Leagues, and now they find out that the Crystal Star on the champ's belt is fake! Now their only lead to the real Crystal Star is this mysterious person who calls themselves X…who could it be? Will this 'X' person help them find the star?**

**I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	23. Chapter 3 - Part 7: The X Files

**What's happening, my loyal readers? 087-B here with a new chapter of this ongoing story of otherworldly heroes…out to save the world!**

**I've actually been away visiting family for a week, and I've had no connection to the internet. During that time, however, I managed to get a lot of writing done and now I have chapters of this story and my other stories to present to you guys that I got done ahead of time!**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 7 - The X Files_

"X? Who is this guy?" Pacifica asked.

"Whoever it is doesn't matter right now." Manly Dan said. "This 'X' guy is our only lead to finding that Crystal Star."

"Manly Dan is right, we should not dwell too much on the identity of this mysterious person." Candy said. "We should instead following their instructions so we may attain the Crystal Star."

"Then let's do just that." Dipper said. He put the journal away and walked over to the terminal.

"Why do we have to keep fighting if we know the star is fake?" Wendy asked.

"We're under a contract." Dipper said. "We have to fight whether we want to or not."

:::::

Team Orion battled two more battles, bringing them up to Rank #8. Once they returned to the Major League locker room after their second match, five familiar faces awaited them.

"Hey guys!" Goombella greeted.

"Nice! You guys made it after all!" Wendy said.

"Now we're closer to the Crystal Star!" Koops said.

"Actually, we have something to tell you." Candy said. She explained to the others about how the star on the champ's belt is a fake and the location of the real one is unknown but a mysterious messenger named X has agreed to help them find it. Then another vibration was heard.

"Speak of the devil." Dipper said. He took out the Journal #3 to read the message, and the others gathered around him to read it.

_gO tO tHe WaTeRiNg HoLe OuTsIdE tHe GlItZ pIt._

_FrOm X_

"Watering hole?" Pacifica asked.

"I think X is referring to the Juice Bar." Dipper said. "Let's go." He got up but Wendy stopped him.

"Wait a second, there's something wrong." She said, looking at the terminal. "The lowest ranking team is at Rank #20. It should be Rank #21."

"You're right!" Flurrie observed. "Bandy Andy and King K have been removed from the list!"

"What happened to them?" Candy asked.

"Who knows, but this might have something to do with the missing fighters." Little Dan said.

"Missing fighters?" Mario asked.

"While I was in my egg, I heard rumors about fighters who go missing." Little Dan said. "Who knows what could've happened to those two."

"Then we best be cautious." Dipper said. Then a security guard arrived.

"Match time, bub." He said. "Get out there."

"Oh, that's our cue." Goombella said.

"Good luck!" Pacifica said. Then Team Gonzales left with the security guard while Team Orion left for the Juice Bar.

:::::

The team arrived at the Juice Bar quickly. They ran towards it and were out of breath upon their arrival. Once they entered it, a man at the counter, who resembled Podley from Rogueport, greeted them.

"Ah! Welcome!" He said. "This is the infamous Glitzville Juice Bar! How may I help you?"

"We… are… here… searching for the… on who… calls themselves… X." Candy said out of breath.

"X, huh?" The man said. "Sorry, but we don't have anyone with that name here." The team sighed. "However, a package was left at the door earlier and it said 'From X' on it. It came with a note that said 'save it for Team Orion'. I'm assuming you are Team Orion?"

"Yep, that would be us." Manly Dan said. He was the only one who didn't lose their breath.

"Great, I'll go get the package from the back." The man walked behind the counter and threw a door.

"Do you guys really think this 'X' guy is trustworthy?" Dipper asked.

"He _is_ our only lead, Dipper." Pacifica said. "He's all we _can_ trust right now." Then the man came back out carrying a medium sized brown box. He set it down on the counter and the team approached him.

"Well, here it is." The man said. "The package that was meant for you five." 

"Do you know what's inside?" Manly Dan asked.

"Nope, I didn't peak at all." The man said. "That would be rude."

Dipper slowly peeled the tape off of the box, being careful enough to not disturb whatever could be inside. Once the tape was off he looked around at his friends, then opened the box. Inside was a large mallet equal in size to Mario's hammer. The head of the mallet was made of smooth black stone, yet when Dipper picked it up, it was fairly light in weight.

"X gave us a hammer?" Dipper asked. "This…actually might make for a good replacement for my staff." He opened the door to the Juice Bar and tossed his staff away. Then he closed it and now made the mallet his new weapon.

"Ah, a HAMMAWHACK 2005." The man said. "Very powerful, yet very expensive. Those hammers can break even the biggest blocks. Nothing made of stone can be penetrated by it, though."

"I wonder why X would give us this." Dipper said. "Thank you, sir." They all walked out of the Juice Bar and back to the Glitz Pit. They entered the hall that lead to the locker rooms, dormitories, and many other rooms, when they heard more vibrations. Dipper took out the Journal #3 and opened to the new page with the new message on it. All of Team Orion gathered around to read it.

_SmAsH tHe BlOcKaDe In ThE mInOr-LeAgUe LoCkEr RoOm._

_FrOm X_

"The Minor League locker room?" Candy asked. "How do we get inside of there? We are not allowed in there anymore." Then, as if on cue, Jolene appeared and asked the guard to come with her, allowing the team to enter the room. Once they were inside, none of the other Minor Leaguers seemed to notice or care. All they really got for being there were glares from the Iron Adonis twins.

"Aha, look." Pacifica sprinted over to the large yellow block from before. "This might be the blockade we need to smash." Dipper walked over and readied his new hammer. Then he swung at the blockade and smashed it into pieces.

"Wow, this hammer is pretty powerful." Dipper said. "I wonder why X would want us to come here." They all walked into the new opening. Inside was a bunch of dust, a worn out bookshelf, a desk with a broken computer on it, and a shelf above the computer.

"Wait, look up there." Wendy pointed. Atop the bookshelf was a slip of paper, but what intrigued them was that the paper had a picture of a Crystal Star on it. Wendy reached up and grabbed it, then began to read it. "It's some kind of document." Then a hand appeared and snatched it out of her grasp.

"That is personal information you should not be reading." Jolene said. "Now leave before I have to call security."

:::::

"That paper could have been the key to finding the Crystal Star." Manly Dan said as they returned to the Major League locker room. After they arrived, they explained the paper and Dipper's new weapon to Team Gonzales.

"I have an idea." Dipper said. "How about we alternate?"

"Alternate? With what?" Manly Dan asked.

"While Team Orion is fighting, Team Gonzales can research this X guy, and vice versa." Dipper said. "Other than fighting to the top, that might be the quickest way to finding the star."

"That sounds like a good idea." Mario agreed.

"Then I think we should reserve a match." Dipper said. He walked up to the terminal and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Grubba's face appeared on the screen.

"Ah, Mighty Orion! You've been itchin' for battles lately, eh son?" He said. "Let's see…you'll be going up against Rank #7 in the Glitz Pit, Team Lee-"

"We forfeit, give them Rank #7." Lee interrupted. He gave the thumbs up to Team Orion.

"Oh…well okay then, I guess that settles it." Grubba said. Then the monitor shut off.

"Thanks Lee." Dipper said. Then another vibration was heard. Dipper immediately took out the Journal #3 and opened it to the new message. Upon reading it, he shuddered.

"What is it?" Pacifica asked. "Is it a new message from X?" Dipper simply sat down and the others gathered around to read the message.

_Keep sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong and you are D-E-A-D M-E-A-T._

Dipper simply took a breath.

"It's a threat."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**And the plot thickens…this chapter was mainly just the heroes battling and rising up ranks, as well as following X and his/her orders, trying to uncover the whereabouts of the third Crystal Star, with the chapter ending on a mysterious threat sent by an unknown individual who isn't X. Oh, and Dipper has the Super Hammer for a weapon now instead of his old staff, and on Page 200!**

**R.I.P. Dipper's Staff - Prologue: Part 2 - Chapter 3: Part 7**

**…anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	24. Chapter 3 - Part 8: The Missing Ones

**I wrote this chapter and the last two in one sitting…jeez, I have nothing better to do, don't I?**

**Anyways, this is one of the last chapter in the Glitzville arc. We have about two more after this one before we rejoin Mabel and Peach, then the Post-Chapter, and then Chapter 4 begins! But enough about that.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 8 - The Missing Ones_

"Who is the threat from?" Pacifica asked.

"I don't know." Dipper said. "There's no name."

"Whoever it is definitely isn't X." Goombella said. "This guy must really not want us getting the Crystal Star."

"Yeah, so we better hurry it up and get to it before he realizes it." Koops said.

"We might as well continue battling for now." Dipper said. Dipper went up to the monitor again and reserved a match. Afterwards, he returned to his team. "We're up against Rank #6, The Fuzz, and our special rule is don't jump."

"Sounds easy enough." Wendy said. Then a security guard entered the room.

"Match time bub." He said. "Get out there."

:::::

Team Orion entered the arena and took their places on the stage. Across from them were three Fuzzies. One was a regular Fuzzy, the second was a green Fuzzy, and the third was a pink Fuzzy.

"We have another match today, folks!" Grubba said into his microphone. "We have the Almighty Greek Gladiator, The Mighty Orion, going up against Rank #6 in the Glitz Pit, the Bottomless Vacuums…" He paused. "Yep, it's a fight to the finish with The Fuzz!"

"We're gonna suck you up until you can't fight anymore!" The normal Fuzzy said.

"Alright team, we're close to the title match." Dipper said. "Let's give it our all, and remember to avoid jumping."

"Right." The others said.

"Now let's get ready to…" Grubba paused. "BAAAAAATTLE!"

"I'll make the first move!" Dipper readied his new hammer and charged forward. He brought it up and then swung it down, smacking the normal Fuzzy hard, dealing enough damage to knock it out of the match. But before he could get away, the green Fuzzy multiplied itself and the pink Fuzzy pounced on Dipper, trying to suck something out of him. It ended up sucking some FP out of Dipper, who, once free from the attack, went back over to his side.

"So the green Fuzzy can multiply." Wendy said.

"I know what to do." Candy said. She took out the Diamond Star and threw it into the air. **"Earth Tremor!" **The Diamond Star came down and slammed into the stage creating a massive fissure. The damage dealt was enough to knock out both of the green Fuzzies and severely damage the pink Fuzzy.

"It looks like only one more attack is needed to take down that pink Fuzzy." Manly Dan said. "I'll take care of this." Before he could attack, however, the pink Fuzzy shot out a large beam that struck all of the opposing team members, heavily damaging them and sending them to the floor.

"Whoa…what was that?!" Manly Dan asked after getting up.

"The pink Fuzzy drains FP…then uses it to charge up a magical attack." Candy observed. "We best be careful around these enemies in the future.

"Let's just finish this guy off." Dipper said. Pacifica sprinted forward and struck the pink Fuzzy with her scepter, knocking it out of the match.

"Hoo-Wee! Looks like the winner is Team Orion!" Grubba said into his microphone. The audience cheered as Team Orion waved to them.

::::: 

Team Orion returned to the Major League locker room where Team Gonzales and Team Lee were waiting for them.

"That battle went fast." Mario said.

"We watched it on the terminal." Goombella said. "You guys rocked!"

"Thanks, little missy." Manly Dan said. "Any leads on X?"

"Nope, nothing yet." Koops said. Then they all heard vibrations. Dipper took out the Journal #3.

"Jeez, X only seems to contact me." He said. He opened it to the new page and he and the others read the new message that formed.

_gO tO tHe TeLePhOnE bOoTh OuT oN tHe PaViLiOn._

_FrOm X_

"The telephone booth?" Pacifica asked. "Why there?"

"Do we really need to question X?" Dipper asked.

Dipper, Pacifica, Wendy, Candy, and Manly Dan all exited the Glitz Pit and went towards the phone booth. Upon arrival, they all found a red key inside of it.

"A key?" Manly Dan asked. "A key to what?" More vibrations were heard as Dipper opened the Journal #3 to its new page.

_gO tO tHe StOrAgE rOoM nExT tO gRuBbA's OfFiCe._

_FrOm X_

"The storage room? Isn't that room locked up?" Wendy asked.

"Not for long." Dipper said, holding up the key.

They all entered the Glitz Pit again and walked down the hall to where the locked door to the storage room was. Before they could enter it, however, Team Lee appeared.

"We're going in there too." Lee said. "We want to help you guys get to the bottom of this."

"The more help, the merrier, I guess." Dipper said. He unlocked the door and they went inside. The storage room was very dim and it contained a number of boxes and a large amount of dust. Tambry had to use the flashlight app on her phone to light up the place, and when they did, Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy heard an all too familiar voice.

"Well well well, if it isn't Dipper." Ms Mowz appeared before the nine humans, startling them all.

"Ms Mowz? What are _you_ doing here?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, the usual. Stealing and steal thing, that's all." Ms Mowz said. "And I presume you're here to find the Crystal Star?"

"Um, yeah, actually." Pacifica said.

"Well then, I'll leave you to that." Ms Mowz said. "Oh, before I go, I must ask: have you heard the voices upstairs? I feel bad for the poor souls up there." She jumped off of wherever she was standing and walked up to Dipper, kissing him on the cheek for the third time. He blushed heavily before Ms Mowz walked out the door. Lee playfully punched Dipper's arm.

"Maybe instead of calling you Dr. Funtimes, we should call you Ladies Man." he said. Dipper laughed sheepishly. Tambry immediately began texting, saying what she was typing out loud.

"Status Update: OMG nine-year old friend had swag XD." She said, before posting the update.

"I'm not a nine-year old, I'm-" Dipper was cut off as he heard more vibrations. "…forget it, let's just see what X wants now." He opened it to the new page and they all gathered around to read the new message that formed.

_fInD tHe StAiRcAsE sWiTcH tO rEaCh ThE aTtIc._

_FrOm X_

"How do we find a switch in here?" Nate asked. They all looked around the storage room for a bit.

"Maybe we have to break the boxes?" Thompson suggested. "It could be behind there."

"That sounds like a good idea." Dipper said. He walked over to some of the boxes and readied his hammer. He swung it and the boxes smash into pieces, revealing a blue '!' switch. "Nice, this must be it." He jumped on it to activate it, and the room began to rumble before a large staircase appeared in the back of the room.

"Well, this looks like where we need to go." Pacifica said. They all sprinted up the stairs and saw another locked door on the right wall and a big yellow block on the left wall.

"This looks like a job for my hammer." Dipper said. He walked over and smashed the block with his hammer, revealing an entrance to a ventilation shaft.

"I hear voices down there." Candy said.

"Not all of us will fit in there." Dipper said. "I'll go and see what I can find, and then I'll report back here." He jumped into the shaft and began crawling between the ceiling below and the floor above. After a while, he began to hear voices from below him that sounded like Grubba and Jolene.

"So you weren't able to locate Bandy Andy or King K?" Grubba asked.

"No sir, so I've erased their named from the list of fighters." Jolene said. "The Glitz Pit no longer has any contact with Andrew B. or KP Pete, aka Bandy Andy and King K."

"And you're sure that nothing was in the storage room, Ms. Jolene?" Grubba asked.

"I'm sure, Mr. Grubba." Jolene replied. "It was most likely just a rat or something."

"Alright then, thank you for reporting to me." Grubba said. Jolene adjusted her glasses and began to leave. "Wait, Ms Jolene."

"Yes, Mr. Grubba?" Jolene asked.

"This may sound strange, but do you have any knowledge of what a Crystal Star is?" Grubba asked. Jolene seemed a bit taken aback by the question but she regained her composure.

"Um, n-no, Mr. Grubba." She replied. "I don't know what a Crystal Star is, sorry." Then she left the room.

'Whoa, Grubba knows what a Crystal Star is!' Dipper thought. 'Did Ms Jolene give him that paper we found in the Minor League locker room?' He then began crawling back to his friends. He got out of the vent and explained what he heard to them all.

"So Grubba knows what a Crystal Star is, eh?" Manly Dan asked. "He might be working for those X-Naut guys you were telling me about."

"That's a possibility, but for now, all we can do is go back and battle to the top." Dipper said. "Once we're champions, we can quit the Glitz Pit and continue our search."

They all agreed and walked down the stairs to leave the storage room. Once they did, they began walking back to the locker room when more vibrations were heard. Dipper opened the Journal #3 to the new page.

"What does X want now?" Nate asked.

"It's not X, it's another threat." Dipper said.

_This is your last warning! Stop snooping around about the Crystal Star!_

_If you don't, you'll suffer the same fate as the others who have gone missing…_

"Jeez, whoever this guy is, he's really persistent on stopping us." Pacifica said.

"Then we better hurry and get the star before he does." Dipper said. Then they all went back to the locker room.

:::::

It was the evening when Team Orion approached the Tent of Telepathy to speak with Gideon.

"Oh, well look who it is." Gideon said, noticing the presence of Manly Dan. "So, what are you here for?"

"How is your business going?" Candy asked.

"It's going spectacular." Gideon said. "The number of coins I've made is higher than the amount of pounds there are in the golden gate bridge!"

'Wow, people must love getting ripped off.' Dipper thought.

"So what rank are you at in the Glitz Pit?" Gideon asked.

"We've done a lot of battling today." Dipper said. "Enough to bring us up to Rank #1."

"Now you can- wait, what?!" Gideon was surprised. Dipper smirked.

"Now we can establish a title match? Yeah, I knew that already." He began walking back to the Glitz Pit. "Let's go, team. Tomorrow, we battle Rawk Hawk for the title of champion."

:::::

The guys were asleep in the male Major League dormitories along with the guys of Team Gonzales and Team Lee. Dipper heard some vibrations and woke up, pulling out the Journal #3 from his backpack. He opened it to the new page that held the new message from X.

_rEmOvE tHe MiGhTy OrIoN pOsTeRs In ThE lObBy._

_FrOm X_

Dipper rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was getting an instruction from X in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, he got out of his bed and made his way to the door. He exited the room and went to the lobby. All of the posters in the lobby that detailed other fighters were now replaced with posters of Team Orion. He sighed and began taking them down. After he took the ones on the first floor down, he walked up to the second floor and began removing the posters up there. He removed the last one and a key fell out. He picked it up and looked at when more vibrations were heard. He opened the Journal #3 to the new page and read the new message.

_gO tO tHe SeCoNd FlOoR oF tHe StOrAgE rOoM._

_FrOm X_

Dipper then walked down the stairs and exited the lobby into the back halls, sprinting down them until he reached the storage room door. He entered it and walked up the stairs. He faced the locked door and placed the key in the padlock, unlocking it. He tossed the key and padlock aside and opened the door. Inside were many wooden boxes and one big yellow block in the back. He walked over to it and readied his hammer.

'Here goes nothing.' Dipper thought. He swung the hammer. The block shattered into pieces, and what Dipper saw shocked him enough to make him pass out.

Underneath the block were the crippled and crushed bodies of Bandy Andy and King K.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**So the whereabouts of King K and Bandy Andy have been uncovered, and now Team Orion can reserve a Title Match against Rawk Hawk for the title of Champion! Will they succeed? They almost have the Crystal Star, but they still don't know where it is. Maybe they will find it next chapter? Who knows…**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	25. Chapter 3 - Part 9: The Title Match

**Four chapters done in one sitting…I need help.**

**In the last chapter, the gang followed X's rules, Team Orion made it to Rank #1, and then Dipper found King K and Bandy Andy. In this chapter, it's time for Team Orion to reserve a title match against the champion, Rawk Hawk.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 9 - The Title Match_

Dipper blinked his eyes open. He was lying on the bench in the Major League locker room with the others surrounding him.

"He is awake!" Candy said.

"What happened?" Dipper asked.

"You passed out in the storage room." Pacifica said. "Security has taken Bandy Andy and King K to the hospital, but they seem so traumatized that they won't say who did whatever happened to them."

"I hope they'll be okay." Wendy said.

"You did a good thing, kid." Manly Dan said. "You found lost fighters and helped them…well, you sort of helped them." Dipper stood up.

"Well then, what do you say we reserve a title match?" Dipper asked.

"Why can't we just wait for X to give us more instructions?" Goombella asked.

"Do we really have to keep fighting?" Koops asked.

"We're under contract, we have to fight." Dipper said. "And also, X might not give us anymore instructions unless we become the champions."

"He has a point." Mario said.

"Yeah, let's hurry it up and become champs already!" Little Dan said. Dipper walked over to the terminal and selected 'Reserve A Match'. Grubba's face appeared on the screen.

"Oh boy, Mighty Orion! It's your big day, ain't it?" Grubba said. "You're going up against the champ of the Glitz Pit, Rawk Hawk!"

"What's the special rule this time?" Dipper asked.

"Your special rule for this battle is to use a special move at least once." Grubba said. "Folks want to see something different than you just whacking on the opponent. Now get out there and make everyone proud!" The terminal shut off and Dipper returned to his team.

"Special rule is?" Pacifica asked.

"Use a special move at least once." Dipper answered.

"A special move?" Manly Dan asked.

"A special move is an attack that requires a Crystal Stat to be used." Candy explained. "For instance, my Clock Out attack can only be used with the power of the Emerald Star." She held out the Emerald Star for her team to see. Then a security guard entered the room.

"Match time bub, let's go." He said. Team Orion followed him out, but instead of going to the ring, the security guard led them down the hall to a different room.

"Wait, this isn't the way to the ring." Wendy said. "What's going on?"

"Every time a challenger takes on the champ, they need to wait in another room so the promoter can prepare the event." The security guard explained. He brought the team to an abandoned, broken down Minor League locker room. "Wait here." Then he shut the door.

"Hey wait a second!" Pacifica said. She ran to open the door but the knob wouldn't budge. "He locked it!" 

"That jerk trapped us in here!" Manly Dan said.

"Great, now how are we supposed to attend the title match?" Dipper asked.

:::::

Back at the arena, Grubba was introducing the match. Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Little Dan, Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson were all in the stands ready to cheer on Team Orion.

"This the first match of the day, folks, and it just might be our biggest!" Grubba said. The audience went crazy. "We'll have our Rank #1 fighter, the Almighty Greek Gladiator, The Mighty Orion…" He paused. "Taking on the champion, the Feral Nuclear Reactor…" He paused again. "RAAAAAWK HAAAAAWK!" The audience cheered again. "Now let's introduce our fighters!" The door to the left opened and Rawk Hawk walked in, walking up to the stage. Grubba walked up to him. "So champ, how do ya feel about today's match?"

"This match will be over with quickly, cause once those puny fighters come in, they'll get RAWKED!" Rawk said. "Of course these guys are probably too chicken to show up!"

"Now it's time to introduce the opposing team…" Grubba paused. "THE MIGHTY ORION!" The door that Team Orion was supposed to enter didn't open. "Huh? Where are they?"

"Ha! I knew they were too chicken to show up!" Rawk said.

:::::

"How do we get out of here?" Dipper asked. "We'll miss our match if we don't."

"Wait, check this out." Manly Dan said. "There's something behind this poster." They all went to the back of the room where Manly Dan was.

"That's a poster of Princess Peach, I think." Pacifica said. Manly Dan tore it off, revealing a hole that led to a secret room. They all walked inside and saw a door at the other end. The room was small and had a table, a stool, a TV and a small light hanging from the ceiling.

"Sweet, we might have just found our way out!" Wendy said. They all walked over to the other door and Candy opened it.

"It's a door to a locker." She said. "And it appears it leads to an unused Major League locker room." They all stepped out and found that Candy was right. They were now in a Major League locker room that was empty and unused. The terminal in this room was blue, but it was also shut down. Candy ran over to try and open the door to the room, but found it was also locked.

"Well, now we're stuck again." Dipper said.

"…wait, I have an idea, but it's a risky one." Pacifica said.

"What is it?" Dipper asked. Pacifica pointed to the restroom. "No, no way. We are NOT doing _that_."

"Well we have to at least try!" Pacifica said. She opened the restroom door and stood on the toilet seat. "Please be a warp pipe, please be a warp pipe, please be a warp pipe!" She jumped up and went within the toilet, down into the drainage pipes.

"Oh god, it actually IS a warp pipe!" Wendy said. Then she dived in, going through the drainage pipes as well, followed by Candy and Manly Dan. Dipper hesitated, but then he quickly jumped in as well.

They traveled through the pipes and ended up back at their own Major League locker room. They exited the bathroom (surprising the other fighters) and left through that door. Then they sprinted down the hall and towards the ring.

:::::

"Well folks, if Team Orion doesn't show up, then this match's winner is-" Grubba was cut short as the ring doors opened allowing Team Orion to enter. The crowd went wild as they appeared. They walked on to the stage to face Grubba and Rawk Hawk. Grubba walked over to the team. "Whoa nelly! It looks like Team Orion decided to show up after all! Where were ya, son?" Dipper grabbed the microphone angrily.

"We were locked in the old Minor League locker room by a guard." He said. "A guard Rawk Hawk bribed." The audience gasped and went quiet, yet Rawk Hawk seemed as confident and cocky as ever. "Sure, you all in the audience may think he's just cheating, but I know the truth." He faced Rawk Hawk again. "I know that you, Rawk, are the true coward here!"

"What?! Shut up with all this nonsense!" Rawk said angrily.

"If you weren't a coward, then why did you have us locked up?" Dipper asked. "Honestly, you knew you would lose the fight, so you had us trapped so you would win by default. Face it Rawk, the secret is out. You're no champ, you're just a cowardly fighter who wants to retain the title you don't deserve!" Grubba quickly took the microphone back.

"Let's get ready to…" He paused. "BAAAAAATTLE!"

"How dare you accuse Rawk Hawk of such lies!" Rawk shouted. "Prepare to get RAWKED!" He charged forwards towards Dipper.

"Try this on for size!" Dipper said. He guarded against Rawk's attack with his hammer, then swung it, sending him tumbling over to his side.

"Oh now you've done it!" Rawk shouted. He jumped up and darted towards Manly Dan. He tried to guard but was sent back. He quickly healed himself with a Mushroom, ending his turn.

"How about a special move?" Candy whipped out the Emerald Star. **"Clock Out!" **She threw it into the air and a large bomb with a green star symbol on it came down. She caught it and threw it over to Rawk. It exploded upon contact and froze him in time.

'Nice! There's the special move…' Pacifica thought. Then she sprinted forward with her scepter and leaped into the air. "How about some of THIS?!" She brought it down on Rawk's head, knocking his still body to the ground. Then the effects of Clock Out wore off, allowing Rawk to return to his normal state. He got up and prepared another attack.

"I'll show off my power…" Wendy said. She readied her fists. **"Power Punch!" **She began rapidly firing her fists at Rawk, sending wave after wave of transparent fists at him. Rawk could barely guard against the attack and took the blow, dealing sufficient damage to him.

"Nobody can beat the RAWK!" Rawk leaped into the air and did a somersault before dive-bombing towards Dipper. Dipper tried to guard but was sent to the ground, too weak to battle.

"Dipper's out, so we've lost our badge guy." Pacifica said.

"You guys can still win this…don't worry." Dipper said weakly.

"…actually, I have an idea." Wendy said. "It might seem a little rough and crazy, but we could win the fight if it works."

"Huh? What did you have in mind, Wendy?" Candy asked.

"Yeah, what were you planning, sweetheart?" Manly Dan asked. Wendy simply smirked and closed her eyes, then crossed her arms in front of her with her hands open.

"**Dual-Hands." **She said. Two red transparent hands emerged, but not from the ground, but from the undersides of Rawk's legs. The palms went down and then positioned themselves upwards. The members of Team Orion stared. The audience stared. Grubba stared even, wondering what Wendy had in mind. Rawk got a horrified look on his face as he stared at the hands. Then, Wendy opened her eyes and shut her hands tight.

"Grab."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Whoa, I wonder what Wendy is up to? It's a reference to something, so I hope you get it!**

**Next chapter might be the last chapter of the Glitzville arc, and admittedly, I'm happy with that. I've wanted to start the Twilight Town arc for some time, and I guess I'll be doing it soon. Sorry to all of you Glitzville fans, but hey, it's gotta end some time.**

**But anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	26. Chapter 3 - End: The Perpetrator

**Well, my loyal readers, this is it. The final part of Chapter 3! This is the fifth chapter I've written in one sitting, so either I'm dedicated to writing, or I have nothing better to do.**

**In the last chapter, Team Orion reserved a title match but were trapped due to a guard that Rawk Hawk bribed. After escaping, the team managed to start their fight against Rawk Hawk, and the dramatic conclusion to said fight will happen in this chapter.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory - Part 10 - The Perpetrator Of Glitzville_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The pain filled screams of Rawk Hawk filled the room as Wendy smirked with sick satisfaction. All of the audience members were shocked, Grubba dropped his microphone, and Dipper, Pacifica and Candy stared on in disgust.

"Wendy! What did you do?!" Pacifica shouted.

"Oh man! OW!" Dipper said, staring in horror and disgust.

"It hurts just to look at it!" Candy said.

Rawk screamed in agony and he stumbled around the stage. The audience members continued to watch in horror as Wendy's finishing attack seemed to send him over the deep end.

"Everyone knows a fighter wants to win, and they'll even go to desperate measures just to do so." Wendy said. "Besides, you deserve it." She opened her hands again and the hands dissipated, leaving Rawk in pain on the floor. Everyone was silent except for Rawk, who was groaning in agony. Then, after a while, Grubba picked up his microphone.

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" He shouted. "TEAM ORION ARE THE NEW CHAMPIONS!" The audience then cheered loudly, especially Team Gonzales and Team Lee, who clapped and cheered loudly for their friends. Then Tamrby posted a status update.

_Status Update: OMG my friends just became the champs! go glitz pit fighters!_

:::::

After the battle, Rawk Hawk was taken to the infirmary and Jolene led the winning team to Grubba's office.

"Hoo-Wee, son!" Grubba said. "That was some finishing move! We haven't had a new champ in a long, long time!"

"Thanks, Mr. Grubba." Dipper said. Then Grubba paid each of them 40 coins and handed Dipper the champ's belt.

"There you go, there's your reward for becoming the champs!" Grubba said. "Now Ms. Jolene, please show them to their new room while I update the rankings, would ya?"

"Certainly, Mr. Grubba." Jolene said. She adjusted her glasses, then left the room, followed by Team Orion.

She took them a short ways down the hall to a door with a star on it, similar to Grubba's door. She opened it and they all entered the champion's room. It had a nice red shag-carpet and a golden wallpaper. A vanity was in the bottom left corner and presents were in the top left corner. A wardrobe was in the top right corner and in the bottom right corner was a raised area with a bed on it. The sheets of the bed resembled a leopard's pelt, and above the bed was a painting that detailed the current team of Team Orion. Above the wardrobe was a vent, and the terminal by the door was gold this time.

"Here you are, welcome to your new room, champions." Jolene said. "Here is your fight money." She handed each of them 20 coins. "Have a good day." She adjusted her glasses, then left the room.

"Well, this is just great." Dipper said sarcastically. "We're champions now but we still don't have the star. All we have is this belt." Dipper said, holding up the champ's belt that had the fake Crystal Star attached to it. Then vibrations were heard. Dipper quickly tossed the belt aside and pulled out the Journal #3, then opened it to the new page as the new message began to form. The others gathered around to read it.

_fInD tHe GhOsT iN tHe ChAmP's RoOm._

_FrOm X_

"A ghost?" Manly Dan asked. "What kind of ghost?"

"Wait, quiet." Dipper said. Everyone was quiet for a moment. Dipper lowered his voice to a whisper. "Hear it?"

"Hear what?" Candy asked in a whisper. Then she heard it. A low grunting noise that faintly sounded like talking. The others began to hear it as well.

"Where is it coming from?" Pacifica asked.

"I think it's coming from the vent." Wendy said, adjusting her ear to face the vent. The voice was a little louder when she did so. "Yep, it's coming from the vent."

One by one, the members of Team Orion began climbing the wardrobe and entering the vent. They all quietly crawled through the dusty, dirty, dark ventilation shaft before reaching the other end of it, where the voice they heard became much clearer. They all went silent so they could hear the voice.

"Oh, this is bad." It said.

"That sounds like Grubba." Manly Dan whispered.

"This Mighty Orion character has risen up faster than I thought." Grubba said. "And then he found Bandy Andy and King K yesterday. I thought I had them hidden away and locked up tight. Now I feel that Jolene and the Mighty Orion are getting suspicious."

"Wait, so all this time, Grubba was responsible for the disappearances?" Pacifica asked.

"This man is a cruel liar." Dipper whispered.

"My plan could be ruined is Bandy Andy or King K awaken from their comas and tell security the truth." Grubba said. "Hopefully they won't. Hopefully they'll end up just like Prince Mush."

"Prince Mush?" Candy asked.

"I've heard he was the first champion of the Glitz Pit." Manly Dan said. "Right before Rawk Hawk was about to battle Prince Mush for the title of champion, Mush mysteriously disappeared, making Rawk the winner by default."

"As long as nobody knows or finds out about my Crystal Star power draining machine, then I should remain this young forever." Grubba said. Dipper peaked through the cracks of the vent and saw Grubba put a paper in his desk drawer, then leave the room. Once he was gone, Dipper waited a moment before breaking the vent open with his hammer. They all jumped out of the vent and into the new room.

"Isn't this his office?" Pacifica asked. Dipper sprinted over to the desk and opened the drawer. Inside he found the piece of paper that Grubba had put away earlier.

"This paper is detailing blueprints for a power draining machine." He said. "It appears the machine runs on the Crystal Star to allow the user of the machine to drain the life force of something else. I'm guessing that Grubba drained King K's and Bandy Andy's life forces and used them to power himself up!"

"The question is how do we get the Crystal Star now?" Manly Dan asked. Then the doorknob turned and Grubba reentered his office. As soon as he did, Dipper reacted.

"Hold it right there, Grubba!" He shouted, readying his hammer to attack.

"What in tarnations are y'all doing in my office?" He asked.

"Recognize this?" Dipper held up the document on the power draining machine. "We know all about your secret, Grubba! It's over!"

"Oh boy…this isn't good, this isn't good at all…" Grubba said before sprinting out of his office.

"Quickly! After him!" Dipper said. They all ran out of the office and followed Grubba. They saw him quickly enter the ring. "Alright, Wendy, go get Mario and the rest of them!"

"Right." Wendy said. Then she sprinted off to get Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie and Little Dan.

"Now Pacifica, go get Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson!" Dipper said.

"On it!" Pacifica said. Then she sprinted off to get Team Lee.

"Alright guys, it's just us now." Dipper said. "Let's end this."

:::::

Dipper broke the doors open with his hammer, allowing him and the others access to the arena. Most of the electronics were turned off, the monitor that showcased fights only showed static, and the stands were empty. They all sprinted inside and saw Grubba on the stage.

"Give us the star, Grubba!" Dipper shouted. "You're cornered and outnumbered!"

"You may have figured out my plan, but I ain't givin' you the star." Grubba said. "Get a look at this." The room rumbled and shook as the nine panels in the center of the stage began to lower themselves down along with Grubba. Then they came back up again, this time with a new contraption resembling a cage rising up as well. In the cage was Grubba.

"This must be the power draining machine." Manly Dan said.

"Your eyes work, captain obvious." Grubba said. Dipper glared at him but then when wide-eyed when he saw what was hovering above the machine.

"Guys! Look up there!" He pointed. "It's the Crystal Star!" The others looked up and saw that Dipper was right. The third Crystal Star hovered over the power draining machine, obviously giving the machine its power.

"We have to stop Grubba and destroy this machine!" Candy said.

"Who said you'll be able to stop me? You'll just be takin' a good o' dirt nap here in a second after I'm done with ya!" Grubba asked sarcastically. "Now try this on for size…" He readied himself in the cage. "MUSCLE UUUUUUUUUUP!" He began to glow a bright white before he grew. When the glowing cleared, Grubba was now bigger than he was before and was now orange. All of his clothes were gone except for his glasses and his red bowtie, and he now sported a large golden Mohawk. "MACHOOOOO GRUBBA!"

"Whoa, Grubba beefed up!" Manly Dan said, a little taken aback by Grubba's new form.

"We can still take him down! Come on, team!" Dipper jumped into the air towards Grubba, readying his hammer. "Take THIS!" He swung the hammer and smacked Grubba in the face, but he barely took any damage. Dipper barely had any time to react before Grubba swung his arm towards Dipper, hurling him into the empty stands.

"Oh no, Dipper!" Candy called out. Then she jumped up towards Grubba and smacked his torso with her rod. Grubba retaliated by punching her into the ground.

'How are we gonna beat this guy?' Manly Dan thought.

"You better take that left hand of yours and get out of here well you still can, Blandly Dan." Grubba said. Something snapped inside of Manly Dan.

"It's not Blandly Dan, it's Manly Dan." He said. "And I don't use my left hand, I use my right hand…" He lunged towards Grubba, ready to strike. "THE MANLY HAND!" He punched Grubba across his face, landing a bruise on his cheek. However, Grubba still didn't take any damage and simply smacked Manly Dan away, sending him into the stands along with Dipper. Then a large hand appeared and punched Grubba in the gut, sending him to the floor.

"Hey! Freak!" Wendy shouted. "Leave my friends alone!" She sprinted into the arena, followed by Mario, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Little Dan. They all began to attack Grubba.

"**Piercing Blow!" **Pacifica came out of nowhere as her scepter transformed into the large glowing blue hammer. She slammed it down on Grubba's head and dealt a little bit of damage to him. In retaliation, Grubba punched Pacifica away, sending her to the floor.

"We're here now, what's the prob-WHOA!" Lee was taken aback by Grubba's new form. "Is that Grubba?!"

"Yes, it is Grubba!" Candy shouted, sprinting away from the stage. She healed herself with a Super Shroom and brought out the Emerald Star. **"Clock Out!" **She threw the star into the air and a large bomb with a green star symbol on it came down in its place. She caught it and threw it over to Grubba. It exploded upon contact with him, but he wasn't fazed.

"How are we going to beat this guy?!" Mario asked. Little Dan ran over to Grubba but stopped.

"Of course, I can't jump high enough to jump on him, and he's too big to gulp." He said. Grubba was about to stomp on Little Dan when Manly Dan sprinted over and blocked the attack, holding Grubba's foot in place. Little Dan quickly ran away and Manly Dan followed.

Team Lee jumped on to the stage in attempt to fight but were immediately smacked away by one of Grubba's colossal arms. Team Gonzales tried as well but they also met a similar fate. Team Orion did all they could but their attacks were useless against Grubba.

"Come on…there has to be some way to beat him…" Dipper said weakly, barely able to stand up.

"I'll admit, I admired your spunk, kid." Grubba said to Dipper. "You bein' handicapped and all, yet you still wanted to fight. I admired that a lot, son."

"Quit the crap, Grubba!" Dipper shouted. "We only want the star!

"And you think I'm going to give that up?" Grubba asked. "Forget it, kid. Just hand over your Crystal Stars and nobody gets hurt…too badly." Dipper simply glared at Grubba, but then had an idea.

"…okay, I'll hand them over." He said, 'accepting defeat'. He took out the Diamond Star and took the Emerald Star from Candy. He walked over to Grubba, but before he handed them over, eh threw the Diamond Star into the air. **"Earth Tremor!" **The Diamond Star came down on the stage hard, causing a massive fissure on the stage. Grubba wobbled around and took some damage.

"What, did you think that was gonna beat me?" Grubba asked sarcastically.

"No, but this will." Dipper said, smirking. He snapped his fingers, and the power draining machine collapsed on Grubba, knocking him out.

:::::

Grubba returned to his original state as all of the heroes and Team Lee gathered around the stage. They all stared at the defeated Grubba.

"He's been causing all of the disappearances…" Dipper muttered. Then everyone heard a voice.

"Wonderful job, Orion and Gonzales." The voice said. They all turned to see Jolene.

"Ms. Jolene? What are you doing here?" Goombella asked.

"I'm here because I knew Grubba's secret all along." Jolene replied. "You see, I've been helping you all this time."

"Wait, you mean you're X?" Little Dan asked.

"Yes, I was X." Jolene replied. "I helped you because…once I saw you battle in the ring, I knew you were the only ones who could take down Grubba." She adjusted her glasses and took a breath. "You see, my family was poor. Very, very poor. In an attempt to earn money, my younger brother, Mush, signed up to be a fighter here in the Glitz Pit. He was a natural, and he made us very wealthy for a time. Then one day, he was about to fight Rawk Hawk. I was in the stands waiting for him to show up, but he never did." She took another breath. "I went to look for him, and then I accidentally saw Grubba use the machine to vanish Mush and drain his power. I then decided to go undercover and work here at the Glitz Pit so I could find a way to stop Grubba, and then you two arrived. I was sure that you two could put an end to Grubba's plans, and I was right."

"…thank you…" Dipper muttered. "…without your help, we would never have saved Bandy Andy or King K, or have found the star."

"You are very welcome." Jolene said. She walked on to the stage and faced Grubba with a scowl. "Grubba, where is he? Where is Mush?"

"Mush…ain't around…no more…" Grubba muttered in pain.

"You…you mean he's…no, he can't be." Jolene said.

"He…he's gone…" Grubba weakly said.

"…Mush…" Jolene muttered. They were all silent for a moment.

"Wait, what's the star doing?" Nate asked. The Crystal Star began spinning rapidly before a Toad popped out. The Toad wore a hat similar to Jolene's and had hair similar to Jolene's as well. He wore a blue sleeveless tee and had on blue sweatpants.

"Where…where am I?" The Toad asked. "Am I in the Glitz Pit?"

"Mush?" Jolene asked in disbelief.

"Huh? Sis?" Mush asked. "What's going on?"

"Mush! It's you!" Jolene happily hugged her younger brother, who returned the hug. "You've been gone for so long, and Grubba said you were dead!"

"It's good to see you too, sis." Mush replied. "Later on, you're gonna have to explain to me what happened, cause I don't remember a thing."

"I will, Mush. I will." Jolene replied. She turned to Dipper and Mario. "Orion, Gonzales…no, Dipper and Mario, I want you to have this." She pointed to the Crystal Star as it spun around rapidly before leaping high into the air and landing on the ground standing up in front of Jolene.

'We finally have the third star…' Dipper thought.

"Here, I'll get it." Manly Dan said. He walked over to the star and was about to pick it up when it spun around him rapidly before appearing over his head. Manly Dan smirked and reached up to grab it, holding it high in the air. The other heroes smiled and clapped.

After a long battle, they had finally gotten their third Crystal Star.

:::::

Gideon watched from the second floor of the Glitz Pit. He watched the whole thing. The battle with Grubba, and the heroes getting the Crystal Star. Of course, he stayed out of it and stayed hidden. Then he heard static coming from a mechanical wristwatch he had.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked into the wristwatch.

"Do they have it?" A voice asked.

"Yep, the heroes have the star." Gideon replied.

"Find a way to get it to us." The voice said.

"Sure thing, Master Grodus." Gideon replied with a dangerous smirk. He shut off the wristwatch.

"Sure thing indeed."

**-{****End Of Chapter 3****}-**

**There you go, folks. The Glitzville arc comes to a conclusion.**

**After many long battles, Team Orion emerged as the champions, however, they still had no clue where the Crystal Star was. Then X guided them to Grubba's office where they had uncovered Grubba's evil plans with the Crystal Star power draining machine! After a long battle, the heroes bested Grubba and have claimed their third Crystal Star!**

**Mario and Dipper's journey still continues, however, as the search for Peach, Mabel, the rest of the Crystal Stars, and the other residents of Gravity Falls, continues. Gideon also has plans as well. With his vast knowledge of the Mushroom Kingdom and his undercover work for the X-Nauts, will our heroes be safe? This and many other questions will be answered soon, as the journey continues…**

**Save all story progress up to this point?**

**Saving, do not press the power button on your laptop or home button on your mobile device…**

**Your progress has been saved.**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	27. Chapter 3 - Interlude

**Six chapters. One sitting. No life.**

**Time for the Chapter 3 interlude. Then after this, the poster-chapter for Chapter 3, and then Chapter 4 begins, so say goodbye to Glitzville, guys, and prepare for Twilight Town!**

**In the last chapter, our heroes bested Grubba and got the third Crystal Star, the Gold Star. Then Gideon was revealed to be working with the X-Nauts. Speaking of the X-Nauts, it's time we go visit Peach and Mabel, wherever they are.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 3 Interlude: Infiltration_

"WOW! Awesome move, Dipper!" Mabel was clapping furiously. She and Peach were with TEC once again, and TEC was on the Glitzville channel. For the past few days, Mabel and Peach had been watching Team Orion and Team Gonzales fight. They just finished watching the battle against Grubba when TEC shut off his monitor.

[I am glad that you have enjoyed your time watching your friends battle, but now I must ask you of something.] TEC said.

"What is it, TEC?" Peach asked.

"Yeah TEC, what'cha got?" Mabel asked.

[It is something very dangerous, so please be serious, Mabel.] TEC explained.

"Oh, um…okay." Mabel said.

[I need one of you to go ask Grodus a question for me.] TEC said.

"What?! Talk to that Grodus guy?!" Mabel asked in disgust. "I can't even think about him without wanting to vomit!"

"I thought you knew everything, TEC." Peach said.

[I only know what has been entered in my CPU or otherwise recorded.] TEC explained. [Grodus keeps many things to himself. When I found out about this, it caused a disturbance in my cycles.]

"So how do we ask him a question?" Mabel asked. "Won't he just, you know, throw us back in the cells?"

[You will go down one floor below this one and enter the X-Naut dressing room.] TEC explained. [There, you will find an unused X-Naut uniform. You will disguise yourself in it and then proceed to ask Grodus a question as an X-Naut.]

"Aw sweet!" Mabel said, fist bumping the air. "We'll be sneaking and infiltrating like spies! Or hit-men!"

[There will be no 'we'.] TEC explained. [There is only one uniform, so only one of you will go.]

"Who will go?" Peach asked.

[I leave this decision unto you.] TEC said.

"I'll go." Mabel said.

"Mabel, it's too risky for a child like you." Peach said. "I will go."

"No princess, I'll go." Mabel said. "I know you want to alert this Mario guy about the plans of the X-Nauts or whatever, but I also want to alert my brother. Besides, they won't harm me as much as they would you."

"…um…" Peach muttered. Mabel sighed.

"Fine, let's play rock-paper-scissors." She said. "Winner stays, loser goes." They readied their fists and selected their actions.

"Rock." Mabel said.

"Paper." Peach said.

"Looks like I'm going." Mabel said.

[Good. Now wear this.] TEC said. A robotic arm emerged from the ceiling and handed an earpiece to Mabel. [This will hook onto your ear and will be hidden under the disguise. It will act as a communicator and a wire.] Mabel took it and hooked it onto her ear, then she left the room.

[Good luck.]

:::::

Nearby doors opened up, allowing Mabel to walk inside.

"What is this?" Mabel asked upon entering.

[This is an elevator that will take you down to the floor you are required to be on.] TEC explained through the earpiece. The elevator began to lower itself. Once it was done, Mabel stepped out. [Good. Now enter the room with the green light above it.]

Mabel walked down the hall before seeing a door that had a green light above it. It opened and she walked inside.

"This dressing room is small…" She said. "I'm surprised X-Nauts even have a dressing room."

[The uniform is in one of the changing stalls.] TEC said. [Find it and put it on.] Mabel searched through the stalls before finding said uniform. She entered the stall it was in and changed her clothes so that the outfit would feel more comfortable, rather than wearing it over her current attire.

"This thing is…snug." She said.

[Now you are disguised. Proceed out of the room and back to the elevator.] TEC explained.

Mabel left the room and walked back down the hall towards the elevator. Along the way, she saw many other X-Nauts, some normal, some of a higher rank, and some of PhD status. She almost forgot she was in disguise and was nervous being around them. She finally got to the elevator and walked inside. It then lowered itself down one more floor. The doors opened again and Mabel stepped out.

[Down the hall is Grodus' room.] TEC said. [Enter it and acquire the information.]

Mabel walked down the new hall to a new door that had a green light on it. She opened it and stepped inside.

:::::

X-Naut Mabel was now in Grodus' quarters. Grodus was in the center of the room. Mabel cautiously approached him. TEC quietly spoke through the headset.

[Ask Grodus what he plans on doing with Mabel and Peach.] He said.

"What do you want, X-Naut? Speak!" Grodus commanded.

"Um, I just, uh, had a question for you, sir Grodus, dude." Mabel said with a shaky voice, trying to imitate the voice of an X-Naut foot soldier.

"What is it, then? Speak quickly!" Grodus said.

"I just, um, wanted to know, uh, what we plan on doing with Peach and Mabel?" Mabel asked.

"That is not of your concern, foot soldier." Grodus said. "Remember your place, you impudent worm."

'What I oughta…' Mabel thought.

"You summoned us?" A new voice asked. The three Shadow Sirens emerged from the shadows in the room.

"Ah yes." Grodus said. "You three have disappointed me yet again."

"True, we may not have attacked Mario and his group this time, but we have spent that time preparing a new way to defeat them." Beldam said. "This devious new plan is sure to succeed without fail, as long as all of the necessary requirements are met."

"This plan better work." Grodus said. "Now go and find them, and stop wasting my time."

'Now's my chance!' Mabel thought. "Should I go with them? They may want my help."

"After you foot soldiers have failed me back in Boggly Woods? Absolutely not." Grodus said. "You shall stay here and continue training." The sirens vanished into the shadows. "But remember this: no harm must come to Princess Peach. I couldn't care less about what you do to that feisty freak, Mabel, but make sure she can talk. See how much information you can pry from her always open mouth." Mabel was ready to tear his head off.

'I'm gonna kill you…'

"See what you can get out of her." Grodus said. "I know that she knows who the legendary hero is, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to find who said hero is! Now go, and continue your training."

"Um…okay, roger or whatever, dude." Mabel said, walking away. "I'm going."

:::::

Mabel reentered TEC's room, now in her normal attire once more.

"His plan is to take over the world!" She said.

"Really?" Peach asked in shock. "You horrible computer!"

[I apologize, but I was designed for that purpose.] TEC explained.

"I can't believe you, TEC!" Mabel shouted. She went silent for a moment. "…wait, Grodus brought up this legendary hero guy. Do you know who that is?"

[No, but I believe that you know who it is, Mabel.] Tec said.

"I think Grodus is talking gibberish." Mabel said. "At least let me send a message to Dipper."

"And please allow me to contact Mario." Peach requested.

[I can allow that, yes.] TEC said. [Please type your messages, then return to your room.] Without as much as a thank you, Peach walked up and typed her message, then hit send. Mabel then typed her message, then she hit send as well. After a moment, both messages were sent. [Mail sent.]

Both Peach and Mabel angrily walked out of the room.

[Goodnight, Princess Peach and Mabel Pines.] TEC said, though nobody responded.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**This chapter was just that: a filler. The interludes are pretty boring for me to write in my opinion, but due to the plot, they have to be in the story. Also, no more Bowser interludes, as Bowser will no longer be a part of the story for a long while.**

**So Mabel did some spy stuff. Now she, Peach, and TEC have some knowledge of what Grodus plans to do with them. Next chapter, our heroes return to the Thousand-Year Door for the fourth time.**

**I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	28. Post-Chapter 3: Millennium Door 4

**Seven chapters, one sitting, I have no life, somebody help me.**

**In the last chapter, we visited Peach and Mabel for the first time in like 11 chapters. In this chapter, our heroes will return to the Thousand-Year Door to hold up the third Crystal Star and find the way to the fourth.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Post-Chapter 3: Millennium Door 4_

"Well, we certainly got more than we bargained for." Pacifica said as she and the rest of the heroes walked towards the blimp, the third Crystal Star now in hand. They were now ready to board it and head back to Rogueport so they could hold the third Crystal Star aloft before the Thousand-Year Door. Then they would be able to locate the fourth.

"Tickets please?" The cheep-cheep ticket guard asked. They were about to show their tickets when they heard a voice.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Gideon sprinted from the Tent of Telepathy towards the group.

"You're coming with us?" Wendy asked.

"Well I don't see why I can't." Gideon said. They all boarded the loading pad as it rose into the air. As it rose, the heroes saw Jolene, Mush, Rawk Hawk, Bandy Andy, and King K waving goodbye. The heroes returned the gesture. Then the loading pad finished rising and the heroes were now in the blimp. They all took their seats as the blimp began to fly away from Glitzville.

"So what do we do now?" Manly Dan asked. "Go to that door thing you mentioned?"

"Yep, we have to hold this Crystal Star in front of the Thousand-Year Door." Goombella explained. "Then the Magical Map will update itself and will guide us to the next."

"We found a total of six Gravity falls residents in Glitzville." Dipper said. "I wonder how many we'll find in the next area."

"Where is the blimp landing?" Thompson asked.

"At a town called Rogueport." Mario said.

"Eh, I guess we'll be staying there." Tambry said.

"You aren't coming along with us?" Dipper asked.

"Nah, adventuring doesn't seem like our thing." Lee said.

"I'll stay there too." Gideon said. "I might as well work with this Professor Frankly fellow to research the Crystal Stars."

"…we didn't mention a Professor Frankly." Koops said. All the attention went to Gideon, who began sweating.

"Actually, I've done some reading and Professor Frankly's name has shown up in a few books." He said.

"Oh, okay." Goombella said. Then all of the attention was drawn off of Gideon. She then turned to Pacifica and whispered. "Frankly isn't in any books. Gideon must be lying."

"You know, you guys should stick around for the trip to the millennium door, at least." Dipper said. "It's really cool."

The blimp arrived at its destination quickly. Everyone gathered on the loading pad as it began its descent. They all walked off of it and entered the warp pipe that took them back to the main streets of Rogueport.

"Wow, this city is…something." Thompson said.

"It's dangerous is what it is." Mario said.

"Personally I find it quite repulsive." Flurrie said. They all heard some beeping.

"That's my cue." Mario said. He took out his Mailbox SP.

"Hey! That looks like my old Gameb-MMPH!" Lee quickly covered Nate's mouth.

"Quiet man, they don't know what a Gameboy Advance is!" He whispered. Mario opened the new message from Peach and read it.

_Dearest Mario,_

_I have uncovered something terrible. These things…the X-Nauts…they're planning to take control of the world! It's to that end that they're searching for the Crystal Stars. I still don't know what the Crystal Stars do, but you must try to get them all…I will gather what information I can…_

_-Princess Peach-_

"Who's Peach?" Tambry asked.

"Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, got kidnapped by the X-Nauts." Wendy explained quickly.

"We are on a quest to save her." Candy said. Vibrations were heard as Dipper took out the Journal #3.

"And that's _my_ cue." He said. He opened it to the new page as a new message began to form, then he began to read it.

_Dear Dipper,_

_These crazy X-Naut dingdongs are trying to take over the world! Can you believe that?! It's like sooooo cliché! Anyways, me and Peach watched you and the others fight at that Glitz Pit thingy, and you were like sooooo awesome! Then I did some super spy stuff and found out these shadow dudes are coming after you guys again! Keep fighting and trying to save the world or whatever, bro! And don't forget about me, okay?_

_-Mabel-_

"The X-Nauts still have Mabel…" Dipper muttered. "But at least now we know what they're planning."

"And it appears that we may be seeing the Shadow Sirens again very soon." Mario said.

"Then we best stay on guard." Wendy said. "Now let's hurry up and get to the door."

:::::

"Jeez, Rogueport has big sewers…" Lee said, looking around the Rogueport Sewers. "It's like anyone can just come down here and make a living out of this place."

"Fun fact: the real Rogueport sewage system was destroyed when the ancient city came collapsing into the ground." Goombella said. "What we're walking in isn't the real sewer system, just a makeshift one. It's actually the remains of the city streets."

"Huh, you learn something new every day." Nate said.

"Kinda reminds me of Pompeii." Manly Dan said. "When did this city collapse?"

"Around 79 A.D." Goombella said. Mnaly Dan's eyes widened.

'That's the same year Pompeii met its demise…' He thought. 'I wonder…' His thoughts were cut short as the heroes arrived in the chamber of the Thousand-Year Door. "Whoa…" he along with Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Thompson marveled at the huge door, but Gideon simply stayed quiet and seemed to stare the door down, a serious expression on his face.

"This thing is so cool!" Little Dan said. They all approached the pedestal.

"Manly Dan, will you do the honors?" Dipper asked.

"Um…what do I do again?" Manly Dan asked. Mario handed him the Magical Map.

"Stand in front of the door and hold this and the star in front of it." He said.

"Uh, okay…" Manly Dan stepped on to the pedestal and held up the Magical Map and the Gold Star. The light show began as the lights etched themselves into the ground. Manly Dan, Lee, Nate, Tambry, Thompson, and Little Dan all gasped as they saw it happen. The Gold Star hovered over its respective circle, and a star symbol replaced where the Emerald Star once was. Then a ball of light fell from the ceiling and exploded upon hitting the map. Then the particles of light reformed into a small ball and vanished as everything stopped and returned to normal. Now, on the West side of the map around a dark forest area, an icon of a large bell tower appeared, an image of a red Crystal Star overlapping it. Manly Dan looked at the map as the others gathered around.

"This place looks…very dark and depressing." Manly Dan said.

"But we still don't know where it is." Pacifica said.

"Come on, let's go see Professor Frankly about this." Koops said. "He hasn't failed us yet."

:::::

"What?! The X-Nauts are planning on world domination?!" Frankly asked in disbelief.

"Apparently." Little Dan said.

"Then that means time is of the essence!" Frankly said. "We need to locate and collect the stars faster now!"

"Speaking of the stars, where is this one?" Candy asked.

"Hmm…I think I might know where it is." Frankly said. He opened another book and flipped through a few pages. "Aha, the fourth Crystal Star is located in a place called Twilight Town."

"Sounds nice." Goombella said sarcastically.

"Now how do we get there?" Pacifica asked.

"There is a pipe somewhere near the ancient city, I believe." Frankly said.

"The ancient city?" Dipper asked.

"You can't reach it by going through the Rogueport Sewers." Frankly explained. "You'll need to enter a sewer grate in West Rogueport to get to it."

"We better rest up for now." Dipper said. "We'll head out tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan." Mario agreed. They all walked out of Frankly's lab (save for Gideon) and went back to central Rogueport.

"Well, this is where we part ways." Lee said. "Good luck on your quest, or whatever." He and the other teens walked off, leaving the heroes to themselves.

"And now only ten remain." Manly Dan said. "You got a restaurant around here or something?"

"Actually, we do." Dipper said. "Off to Podley's we go."

:::::

They all entered Podley's Inn &amp; Bar, and they were immediately greeted by reporters.

"HEY! IT'S TEAM ORION FROM GLITZVILLE!" One reporter shouted.

"Can we schedule an interview for next week's RDM?" Another reporter asked.

"Is it true you have an ex-Major Leaguer on your team?" A third reporter asked.

"Did you really find and hatch a Yoshi egg?" A fourth reporter asked.

"Why do you have so many pins on your hat, Mr. Orion?" A fifth reporter asked.

"Um…I've lost my appetite." Dipper said. He and the other heroes sprinted up the stairs into the inn before they could be bombarded by any more reporters.

:::::

That night, instead of a peaceful night, a thunderstorm started to brew. It rained outside of the window as Dipper stared out of it. He stared to the West where the location of Twilight Town would be. He wondered what would happen when they arrived. He sighed and went to lay on his bed, fatigue drawing him in.

"I've got a bad feeling about that place." He said. Then he drifted off to sleep.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**And thus ends Chapter 3 for good, now onto Chapter 4!**

**I'd like to thank gamelover41592 for the idea of having Dipper's fighting name be The Mighty Orion. I'd also like to thank him for giving me the idea to name the Yoshi kid Little Dan. You, my friend, have better ideas than me.**

**I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	29. Chapter 4 - Part 1: Another Fine Mess

**Eight chapters, one sitting…someone cut my fingers off.**

**This chapter shall officially begin the Twilight Town arc, an arc that I hate with a burning fiery passion that arises from the depths of hell…but I digress, I hope you guys enjoy this arc-starting chapter.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 1 - Another Fine Mess_

The next morning, everyone woke up bright and early. They all prepared for the trip to Twilight Town by packing up backpacks filled with items like Mushrooms, Syrups, and various other things. They all met outside the inn once they were ready.

"Well, are we ready to head out?" Dipper asked his group.

"First we have to find the ancient city." Goombella said. "And I think I know where it is. Follow me." She led them to the West side of Rogueport where they stopped by a sewage grate in the middle of the road.

"This must be the sewer grate Frankly mentioned yesterday." Little Dan said.

"Come one, we have no time to waist." Mario said. He flipped into paper, surprising Manly Dan and Little Dan, then slipped into the grate, followed by Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Pacifica, Dipper, and Candy.

"Um…how are we supposed to get down there?" Manly Dan asked. Little Dan climbed up on his shoulder.

"Here, let me help, dad." Wendy said. She grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, what are you-" Manly Dan was cut off as he suddenly flipped into paper along with Wendy and Little Dan. They slipped into the sewer grate and met up with the other heroes down below. Then they returned to normal.

"Whoa! How'd you do that, sis?" Little Dan asked.

"Long story." Wendy replied.

"So now where do we go?" Flurrie asked.

"I did some reading on the ancient city." Dipper said. "The ruler of the city made deals with the residents of Twilight Town on occasion, but because of how far apart the two towns were, the ruler had a warp pipe constructed for it and it was kept near the plaza so anybody could enter it."

"Maybe it is through there?" Candy pointed to a green wooden door that looked to be ages old. "We will have to cross this gap to reach it."

One by one, the ten heroes began to jump over the gap, reaching the other side with ease. They all walked through the green door and entered a very small room. All they saw inside was a very old looking pipe that appeared to be covered in mold and rust, but underneath all of said mold and rust, it appeared to be made of hardened clay. A sign was next to the pipe. Dipper walked over to read it.

_To Twilight Town_

"We found it." He said.

"You ready to jump in?" Pacifica asked.

"When am I not ready?" Dipper remarked. He leaped into the pipe and felt like he was being dragged into eternal darkness…

:::::

After what appeared to be an eternity of falling through darkness, Dipper shot out of the pipe and landed on dry, dead grass and a bunch of dirt and some sand. He stood up and wiped the dirt off of his clothes and looked around. Dipper was now in an old, dark city surrounded by woods made up of dead trees. The villagers resembled life-sized rag dolls wearing…rags. He turned and waited for the others to come through when Candy, Goombella, Manly Dan, Wendy, and Little Dan came through.

"Where are the others?" Dipper asked.

"For some reason, the pipe won't let them through, so they said to start without them." Wendy explained.

"I wonder why that happened…" Dipper said.

"Ah…are you travelers?" A voice asked. The group saw one of the rag dolls, a male one, approach them.

"Um, yes, we are adventurers. Why do you ask?" Candy asked. Then they all heard a large bell toll.

"Oh no, who could it be this-" The male rag doll was cut off as he was engulfed in a purple cloud of smoke. Then, when the cloud dissipated, the man was gone.

"Whoa! What happened to that dude?!" Little Dan asked. Then they heard an oink, and Dipper looked at the ground where the man once stood to see that he was replaced by a pig.

"Did he…did he just turn into a pig?!" He exclaimed.

"Oh no…not Freddy too." Another voice said. This time an older looking male rag doll approached them. His face was covered by large bushy gray eyebrows and a large gray mustache. His head was also torn open a bit, revealing some fluff, and the man carried a wooden walking cane.

"Who are you, and what's going on here?" Manly Dan asked.

"This is not the place to talk." The man said. "Please, come with me to my house." The man led them to a small house that had the word 'MAYOR' etched into the foundation above the door. Once they were inside, the light was so dim that Goombella had to turn on her headlamp to create some extra light.

"First, I must ask of you this: please leave, this town is cursed." The man said.

"We can't leave, we're here for something important." Goombella said.

"Hmm…very well, stay if you must." The man said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mayor Dour, and this town is Twilight Town."

"Nice to meet you, Mayor Dour." Dipper said. "Now could you please tell us about this curse you mentioned?"

"…I suppose I can." Dour said. "You see, an abandoned bell tower, what we call the Creepy Steeple, lies deep in the woods. A monster who lives there has cursed this town, and now every hour, the bell tolls and someone here turns into a pig. We have been unable to stop the curse and we have yet to find a cure or a way to prevent it."

"How many residents live in this town as of today?" Dipper asked.

"The total population of Twilight Town is 19, and including you all, 6 guests." Dour said.

"And how many have been turned into pigs?" Dipper asked.

"The last count of pigs in town is 11, including Freddy." Dour said.

"Then that means we only have 14 hours to break the curse before we all turn into pigs." Dipper said.

"I don't think all of us should go to the Creepy Steeple." Wendy said. "I volunteer to stay behind and help out in town. I think it would be safer if some of us stayed behind."

"I volunteer as well." Candy said. "I have done some farming in my home country so I can help with the pigs."

"Then it's settled." Dipper said. "Goombella, Manly Dan, Little Dan and I will go to Creepy Steeple and take care of this thing. Wendy, you and Candy stay here and wait for the others. We only have 14 hours max to stop this, so we have to work fast."

"You can leave town through the gate in the Eastern area of Twilight Town." Dour informed.

"Thanks, Mayor Dour." Dipper tipped his hat. Then he, Manly Dan, Goombella, and Little Dan left the Mayor's house and walked off towards the gate, ready to put an end to the curse.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**And thus the Twilight Town arc begins! I don't think it will be too long but the length will be decent. So far the Glitzville Arc is still the longest but that's because it has so much content. Sill, I hope you enjoy the next few chapters to come.**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	30. Chapter 4 - Part 2: Eternal Twilight

**My first sitting of writing is done, and I'm now entering my second sitting…my fingers will be stubs by the end of this.**

**In the last chapter, Twilight Town began. In this chapter, twilight Town continues.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 2 - Eternal Twilight_

"So, my friend…are you ready to go?" A creature asked in a somewhat childish voice. The creature was underneath a white sheet with two holes allowing its glowing red eyes to be visible. It wore a strange party hat and sported purple shoes. Another figure, this one a bit taller than the creature, appeared next to it, this one concealed in a black cloak, one that made the figure well hidden amongst the darkness of the woods.

"I'll go the second you tell me your name." The cloaked figure said.

"My name isn't important, Slick." The creature said. "Be lucky I even let ya stay here!"

"Let me stay here? That's just a part of our deal." The cloaked figure retorted. "You give me a place to crash and I help you with whatever you need."

"Slick, do first, ask questions later." The creature said. He walked over to a large opening that overlooked the woods. "Now…there is a team of four that is traveling towards the steeple. I want you to go and stop them."

"I'll do it as long as you keep your part of the bargain." The cloaked figure said.

"Yeah yeah, I'll keep it." The creature said. "Just get out there and make sure none of them even make it to the steeple."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." The cloaked figure said. Then it stepped up onto the opening at the top of the steeple and jumped, vanishing into the darkness below.

:::::

The four heroes walked down the Twilight Trail outside of Twilight Town, heading for the Twilight Woods that would take them to the Creepy Steeple. Goombella was in front, leading them through the woods with her headlamp providing light. Once they arrived in the woods, they began their long walk to the steeple.

"Jeez, these woods are dark." Dipper said. "How close do you think we are to the steeple?"

"I don't think we're that close." Manly Dan replied. "For now, we keep walking until we get somewhere."

"And if we run into any bad guys, my super strong dad will punch them out in no time flat!" Little Dan said. Manly Dan smirked and pet the little Yoshi.

"Why'd you make _me _lead the way?" Goombella asked, her voice quivering.

"Because you're the only one with a headlamp here." Dipper said.

"Can't you just light up Fire Drive and light the way?" Goombella asked.

"Do you _want_ me to waste all of my FP before we get to the steeple?" Dipper asked sarcastically. Then they heard the bell toll again. "Oh no…"

Nothing happened.

"It was none of us, thank the lord." Manly Dan said.

"That means it was somebody back in town." Goombella said.

:::::

Back at Twilight Town, Wendy and Candy were in the Mayor's house, tending to a few pigs, when they heard the bell toll.

"Oh no! Not again!" Candy exclaimed. Nothing happened. "Well, I wonder who it was."

"It was probably somebody outsi-" Wendy was cut short when she was engulfed in a purple cloud. When it cleared, all that remained in her place was a pig.

"Oh no, Wendy!" Candy shouted.

Back in the woods, the others wondered if any of their friends became pigs due to the bell.

"We have 13 hours left." Dipper said. "We have to hurry." They began to sprint through the forest towards the steeple.

:::::

They woods were completely silent, save for the footsteps of the four heroes as they traversed the trail that led to the steeple.

"Can we take a break?" Manly Dan asked. "I'm getting a little tired of walking." 

"Yeah, me too." Goombella said. Dipper thought for a moment.

"…fine." He replied. They all stopped and sat down for a moment, Dipper using Fire Drive on some dead logs to create a makeshift fire. "We'll only be here for a half-hour max, then we have to keep moving."

"No sign of another resident of Gravity Falls." Manly Dan said.

"Yet." Dipper corrected. "No sign of another resident of Gravity Falls _yet_."

"How do we know we'll find one?" Manly Dan asked.

"I have a pretty good hunch." Dipper replied.

_Crack._

The heroes heard what sounded like faint footsteps somewhere in the woods. Dipper pulled out his hammer and readied himself.

_Crunch._

"It's probably just a Cleft." Manly Dan said. "I'll take care of it." He set Little Dan down and walked off into the woods. "Don't worry, I'll stay in earshot. Call out if you need anything."

"Right!" Dipper called back. They were silent for a moment. Manly Dan didn't come back for a while.

"Guys, I don't think he's coming back." Goombella said. "Maybe we should-" They were interrupted by screams that came from Manly Dan's direction.

"Oh no! Dad!" Little Dan said. He began to run off towards his adoptive father's location.

"Little Dan! Wait!" Dipper called out, but the Yoshi didn't come back. "Goombella, we have to find the Creepy Steeple. They might turn up there."

"Right, I'm staying close." Goombella said. They began to run off through the forest. The steeple was getting closer, but then all light vanished.

"Goombella?" Dipper asked. His Goomba friend was nowhere to be found. "Great, now I'm alone…" He activated Fire Drive to use his hammer as a makeshift torch and light up the area. He began to run faster through the woods towards the steeple, hoping he would find his friends.

:::::

Finally, Dipper arrived outside the Creepy Steeple. It was large and ominous as the moonlight shined down on it. He could see the abandoned belfry at the top. By this point Fire Drive had run its course and went out, so Dipper was now alone in the darkness. He approached the steeple and walked inside. It was very silent, making the place all the more eerie to be in.

"Guys! Are you here?" Dipper called out. No response. He approached the back of the steeple and found a pedestal that had a star statue on it. But what intrigued him was what was around the pedestal. "Scuff marks?" He began to push the pedestal, which was surprisingly light, revealing a hole below.

"Looks like the only way to go is down…" Dipper muttered. He jumped into the hole and landed on a trampoline that cushioned his fall. He was now in, what he believed to be, the basement of the steeple. He entered a long hall that lead into darkness. Dipper uneasily began to wander down the hall, and every step he took he felt like he was plunging into madness and insanity. Finally, he heard a voice.

"You made it to the steeple?" It asked. At first, Dipper thought he was going insane and hearing voices in his head, but then he realized that the voice came from in front of him. He could faintly make out a cloaked figure in the darkness in front of him.

"Who…who are you?" Dipper asked. "Where are my friends!"

"That's not of your concern. You'll be gone in 10 seconds." The cloaked figure said. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6..." Dipper charged at the cloaked figure and smacked it in its head with his hammer. The force of the blow was hard enough to knock the figure to the ground and remove its hood. It lifted its head up and rubbed it, and Dipper went wide-eyed.

"D-Dipper?!" The cloaked figure asked in shock.

"R-Robbie?!" Dipper was surprised to see one of his most bitter rivals in front of him.

"3, 2, 1." Robbie finished counting and smirked. Before he knew it, Dipper lost consciousness and fell down limp on the stone cold floor.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**One of the shorter chapters but I think it came out okay.**

**It turns out a strange creature in a sheet and its apprentice are the cause off the curse. The creature's accomplice? Robbie, the emo punk from Gravity Falls…okay, maybe Robbie isn't exactly emo, but he looks emo, at least. Will Dipper manage to find his friends and escape the Creepy Steeple? Read on to find out!**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	31. Chapter 4 - Part 3: Duel Atop Steeple

**Second chapter, second sitting. It's fun to write, actually.**

**In the last chapter, Dipper and his current band of heroes set out for the Creepy Steeple. Wendy turned into a pig, Dipper was left alone as his friends disappeared, and an even bigger surprise, Robbie showed up! What will happen next?**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 3 - Duel Atop The Abandoned Steeple_

"Whew! We've finally arrived!" Pacifica said as she and the other heroes exited the pipe that took them to Twilight Town.

"Who knew that pipe would give us so much trouble." Mario said.

"Ah! You are here!" Candy exclaimed, running over to her friends.

"Is that Candy?" Flurrie asked. Then the bell tolled.

"Whoa, did you guys here that creepy bell?" Koops asked.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO CANDY?!" Pacifica screamed in horror. There in Candy's place was a pig, one that sported glasses that had a tag on them. On the tag read 'Property of Candy Chiu'.

:::::

The sound of the bell tolling made Dipper shoot up awake. He looked around and found himself tied up in the belfry of the abandoned steeple. He fidgeted with the ropes for a bit when he noticed Goombella tied up next to him out cold. Across the belfry were Manly Dan and Little Dan tied up as well. Little Dan was out cold but Manly Dan was just fine. The white-sheeted creature was there along with Robbie, who still wore the black cloak but now his hood was lowered, revealing his face.

"Nice job, Slick!" The white-sheeted creature said. "You've captured them all swiftly!"

"It was nothing." Robbie said in a monotone voice.

"Wow Robbie, you've hit a new all time low." Dipper scoffed. "First you try to make Wendy your girlfriend, even after she broke up with you, and now you're hanging out with freak-in-a-sheet? Jeez, you really don't know what you're doing." Robbie glared at Dipper and suddenly vanished, appearing next to him in a flash.

"Do you have any _idea _what I've been through since I got here?!" He shouted. "I've been lost and alone, and just when I thought I was dead, freak-in-a-sheet came to my aid."

"Came to your aid?" Freak-in-a-sheet asked in confusion. "I saved your life, Slick!"

"You didn't do nothing for me, you piece of-" Robbie began cursing at the creature while Dipper slowly untied his bindings. Once he did, the conversation resumed. "-might as well shove a Cleft up your-" Robbie was sent to the floor as Dipper stood up, now wielding his Super Hammer and ready for battle. Robbie stood up again and rubbed his head in pain.

"Robbie, I don't want to fight you." Dipper said. "Stop screwing around with freak-in-a-sheet and come with me."

"Why should I?" Robbie asked sarcastically. "You've done nothing but make matters worse since I've gotten here."

"Stop arguing, Slick." The creature said. "It's time for battle. Why don't you give him a little taste of your new powers?" Robbie smirked.

"Gladly." He said. Robbie then leaped into the air and began kicking towards Dipper, who took every blow, sending him tumbling across the belfry. He got up and ignored the pain, then sprinted towards Robbie, ready to attack. Robbie simply smirked again and vanished into thin air, reappearing behind Dipper and kicking him in the back. He fell to the floor as Robbie pinned him down with his right foot and raised his left. His left leg then burst into flames, though Robbie didn't feel anything.

"Yes! You've got him on the ropes, Slick!" The creature exclaimed with glee. "Now hurry up and end this!"

"Wait, you mean kill him?" Robbie asked, his leg flames dying down.

"Yes! Kill him quickly!" The creature shouted.

"…no, that's way to far." Robbie said. "I may hate Dipper, but I'm not one for killing." He stepped away from Dipper, allowing him to get up. "You've taught me many things, such as power kicks, flaming kicks, and the power of teleportation via disappearing into 'thin air', but now that I see that you want me to kill…I won't stand for it." He then pulled away his cloak, revealing tattered clothing. "Come on, freak-in-a-sheet." He smirked.

"Let's dance."

:::::

"Wow, everyone back in Twilight Town is a pig!" Koops said. He and the others were walking towards Creepy Steeple through the Twilight Woods.

"We need to keep moving towards the steeple." Mario said. "Maybe the others are there already." They continued onward until they reached the Creepy Steeple.

"Whoa, look up there!" Pacifica pointed towards the belfry. "Something's going on!"

:::::

Robbie dealt another flaming kick towards the sheeted creature, sending it into the air. Then Robbie leaped upwards again, launching another kick and sending the creature out of the belfry. However, the creature began to hover in the air, shocking Dipper and Robbie. The creature rammed into Robbie and sent him down to the ground, and while these two continued to battle, Dipper began untying Goombella, Manly Dan, and Little Dan.

"Thanks boy." Manly Dan said once he was free. He smirked. "Let's take this fool down." When the creature got close enough, Manly Dan punched it into a wall.

"You all aren't very nice…" The creature said. He spotted Dipper, who was distracted. "Try this on for size, Slick!" He shot towards him and jabbed him in the back. Then a large purple cloud surrounded the two, and when it cleared, Dipper was lying on the ground in pain, and a new figure was there that replaced the sheeted creature. It resembled Dipper but was all purple and black like a shadow.

"You're…you're me!" Dipper said.

"Can you defeat yourself?" Dark Dipper asked. Dipper got up and grabbed his hammer.

"I know all of my weaknesses." He said. "I can defeat you easily!"

"I also hold all of your strengths." Dark Dipper said. They both sprinted towards each other and struck their hammers together in a sword fight kind of way, they continued this style of combat before a large wooden hammer struck Dark Dipper, sending him to the ground.

"Mario! You made it!" Dipper exclaimed, seeing as the rest of his friends were now in the belfry of the steeple. Robbie looked over and saw the new faces.

"You guys found Robbie?" Pacifica asked.

"More like he found us." Dipper replied.

"I'll meet the new guys later." Robbie said. "For now, we have a battle to deal with!" He jumped up again and kicked Dark Dipper away with a forceful kick. Dark Dipper, seeing that he was severely outnumbered, decided to pull off one final attack.

"I'll see ya later, Slick!" He darted towards Dipper, and in the blink of an eye, Dipper's mind went blank. He blinked a moment and saw he was on the ground flat. His doppelganger was also down on the ground, defeated. He got up and walked over to his clone and grabbed a bright red Crystal Star from his grasps.

"Well, we got what we came here for." Dipper said. "Let's go." He left the belfry followed by the rest of his group, save for Robbie, who merely stared out of the belfry into the distance.

:::::

Dipper got up and found himself in terrible pain. He looked around and realized he was still in the belfry. He raised his hand to rub his aching head, but upon doing so, he saw it was completely purple and black like a shadow. He nearly screamed at the sight of it.

"What happened to me?!" He asked in shock. Robbie whirled around in surprise as he saw the shadow awaken.

"You still need another beating?" He asked with a glare. He raised his left leg.

"Robbie…?" Dipper asked. Robbie's eyes widened as he lowered his leg. The freak-in-a-sheet never referred to Robbie by his own name…

"…Dipper? Is that…is that you?" He asked.

"What happened to me?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know…that sheet-head must've switched brains or whatever…" Robbie said. "You need help."

"Will you help?" Dipper asked. Robbie thought for a moment.

"…sure."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Again, a shorter chapter, but the next chapter will be decently lengthier.**

**So Robbie has joined the good side, the gang has the fourth Crystal Star, and everything is happy, right? Wrong. Dipper is now mysteriously a shadow of his former self…literally! That doppelganger has stolen his body! What will he do now? Robbie is also the only one who has noticed that something is amiss..**

**I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	32. Chapter 4 - Part 4: Friends In Shadows

**087-B here with the third chapter of my second sitting of writing. I'm just writing cause I'm bored now.**

**In the last chapter, Dipper's identity was stolen! In this chapter, maybe he'll get it back? I've been sucking with these beginning author's notes lately. Maybe cause I'm just out of it…**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 4 - Friends In The Shadows_

"…and so that's why we're here in this new world, and that's our goal." Dipper finished explaining the situation at hand to Robbie who was clueless before.

"…okay?" Robbie questioned. Dipper face-palmed.

"I'll make it clearer later." He said. "For now, we need to get back to Twilight Town." He noticed his Super Hammer was nearby. He picked it up and it turned into a shadowy version of itself. "Should've expected…"

He and Robbie then left the belfry and proceeded to exit the Creepy Steeple. All that was left between them and Twilight Town was the woods. The dark, eerie woods. Without hesitation, the two sprinted inside, desperate to get back to a safer shelter that wasn't the steeple.

"Why didn't you leave with the others?" Dipper asked.

"I really didn't know whether I wanted to stay and figure out what was going on or if I should go with you guys." Robbie explained. "Honestly, I don't know if I made the right choice to stay behind.

:::::

After a long, long walk, the two finally exited the woods and were nearing Twilight Town. They smiled upon seeing the town and walked into it. Nobody paid them any mind or attention, allowing them to traverse the streets and find help. They noticed that all of the townsfolk returned to normal, indicating that the curse had been broken.

"We probably shouldn't find the others." Dipper said. "For one, they'll beat me up, and two, they'll beat you up."

"Why me?" Robbie asked.

"You _were_ fighting alongside freak-in-a-sheet." Dipper said. He stopped under a dead tree. "Let's just rest. We need to save energy." They slumped down against the tree and began to drift off. After a while though, they heard some voices. Robbie paid them no mind, but these voices were all too familiar to Dipper as three familiar shadowy beings emerged from the, well, shadows a few meters away.

"Aha, we have arrived in Twilight Town." Beldam said. "Mario and his gang should be showing up here sometime soon. Then we'll finally activate our devious plan and they'll be no more…" Vivian was staring into space. "Vivian!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry sis." Vivian said. "I just realized that we fit in so well with Twilight Town."

"…you know, you're right." Beldam said. "But that's not important right now. Please, Vivian, if you would, hand me the Superbombomb that we created for this plan." Vivian was silent. "Vivian, I said give it to me!"

"But sis, I don't have it." Vivian said. "You said I was too irresponsible to be carrying it, so you held onto it since we left the fortress."

"Vivian, I can tell you that if I had it, I would be holding it right now." Beldam said. "Just for lying, you deserve punishment." She punched Vivian across her face, causing blood to trickle down her cheek. She continued to punch her until Vivian blocked the next punch with her hand. "Vivian, let go and accept your punish-"

"Shut up, hag." Vivian said. "I've had enough of you and your ridiculous punishments. 'Oh Vivian! You put the item in the wrong slot! Oh Vivian! You lost the Superbombomb! Oh Vivian! You don't have the picture of Mario, I do, but I'm still gonna punish you for it!'" She mocked Beldam and her actions. "You've punished me for no reason all my life! And look!" She pointed to the little green grenade that was underneath Beldam's hat. She took it out and held it up high. "See? You've had it all along!"

"Vivian, shut up and simply give me the bomb!" Beldam ordered. Her fist that was in Vivian's grasp began to turn to ice, but Vivian quickly lit her hand on fire, scorching Beldam's hand.

"Fire beats ice, sister!" She said. Then she let go of Beldam's hand that was so charred it appeared to be irreversible. Then Vivian threw the Superbombomb on the ground, and instead of exploding, a large crack ran down the top of it to the bottom.

"…you really are an inferior piece of trash." Beldam muttered. She punched Vivian one final time, sending her to the ground. "Come, Marilyn. We shall attend to other needs before we eliminate Mario and his gang." She vanished into the shadows.

"Guuuuuuuuuuh!" Marilyn, um, said? Then she vanished into the shadows along with her sister, leaving Vivian completely alone.

'Oh man…' Dipper thought. '…she may be my enemy, but I have to help her.' He got up and sprinted towards Vivian.

"What the-" Robbie noticed Dipper running off. "Hey! Wait!"

Dipper approached Vivian and offered her a hand.

"Need some help?" He asked. Vivian stared for a moment before taking Dipper's hand. He helped her up.

"…thanks." Vivian muttered. "…why did you help me?"

"I saw that whole argument." Dipper said. "You don't deserve to be treated like trash. You stood up for yourself, which is something I could never do." Vivian let out a small smile.

"I've never met a shadow like you." She said. "What's your story?" Dipper went on to explain how he had his identity stolen and now his doppelganger is taking control of his life, though he left out his name. He also mentioned that one of his old enemies is now a friend that is helping him retrieve his identity. "Wow, you have it bad, maybe even worse then me."

"I've gotta get my life back." Dipper said. "It feels so lonely when you know that all of your friends are with the wrong person."

"Jeez, I'm sorry about that." Vivian said. Then Dipper reached into his pocket and pulled out a rag. He began to wipe the blood off of Vivian's face.

"There." he said.

"Oh…thanks." Vivian said. "There must be some way I can repay you for being so kind to me, mister."

"You don't have to, really." Dipper said.

"…no, I've decided." Vivian said with a smile. "I'm leaving my sisters, and I'm coming with you!"

"Really? Are you sure that's what you want?" Dipper asked.

"I'm positive." Vivian said. "What did the guy who stole your identity look like?"

"A sheet with a party hat and red eyes." Dipper explained. "I refer to him as freak-in-a-sheet." The two giggled at the joke when Vivian gasped in realization.

"Wait, does this guy always say 'slick' as a catchphrase?" She asked.

"Yeah, he does." Dipper replied.

"I know who it is." Vivian said. "The monster is Doopliss, a famous Dooplighost identity thief."

"Whoa, you know this guy?" Dipper asked.

"I don't really know him, but I've heard of him." Vivian said. "We need to get him somewhere he can be defeated in without trying to escape."

"How about the Creepy Steeple?" Dipper suggested.

"That's a great idea." Vivian said. "How do we lure him in there though?" Dipper thought for a moment.

"Are you able to carry stuff into the shadows with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" Vivian asked back.

:::::

"Well, are we ready to go?" 'Dipper' asked the gang. They were in the Twilight Town Inn and were about to leave for the Thousand-Year Door.

"Whenever you want to leave, we'll follow." Goombella said. She and the rest of the gang then left the inn and waited outside for Dipper. Then a paper appeared in front of the doppelganger. Curious, he picked it up and began to read.

_The jig is up, Doopliss. I know who you are, and I know what you do. We battle at Creepy Steeple, or else I'll expose you for who you really are. If you win, my life is yours._

_-The Real Dipper Pines_

Shocked, the doppelganger known as Doopliss dropped the paper and ran outside of the inn.

"Quick, back to Creepy Steeple, slick!" He said. Then he bolted. The others were confused but followed him anyways.

:::::

"Yes! There they go!" Dipper said, pumping his fist in success.

'They look vaguely familiar…' Vivian thought.

"Thanks for the help, Vivian." Dipper said.

"No problem, mister." Vivian replied. They began to walk off back to the Creepy Steeple with Robbie in tow, who quickly caught on to why Vivian was present. "Um, mister?"

"Yes?" Dipper asked.

"If this doesn't work…" Vivian began. She smiled. "…then you still have me, at least."

"Thanks." Dipper said. "You can't see it, but I'm smiling."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Vivian has joined the heroes and Doopliss' secret has been revealed! The next chapter will end the Twilight Town arc, making it a chapter shorter than I predicted it to be. I don't know why, but I thought the arc would last 6 chapters, not 5.**

**Nevertheless, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	33. Chapter 4 - End: Battle At The Belfry

**Well, this is it. The final part of Chapter 4. I've had a little bit of fun writing this chapter, but I'm still more excited to end it.**

**In the last chapter, Dipper befriended Vivian and learned of Doopliss' identity. In this chapter, he, Vivian, and Robbie are going back to the Creepy Steeple to put a stop to Doopliss' scheme once and for all.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 5 - Battle At The Belfry_

Dipper, Vivian, and Robbie sprinted through the Twilight Forest, trying to get back to the Creepy Steeple. As they ran, Dipper was lost in his thoughts again.

'What will Vivian think of me when I get my body back? She'll know the truth…' He thought. 'I'll have to deal with that later. For now, I need my body back, I need my friends back…I need my life back!'

"I can't see anything." Robbie said as they sprinted. "Anyone have a light?" Dipper activated Fire Drive to allow some light to shine through the darkness. "Whoa…"

"Oh! Wait!" Vivian said. They all stopped.

"What is it?" Dipper asked.

"Look!" Vivian pointed to three Hyper Clefts that were approaching them.

"We can't take them all on, we have to hide!" Robbie said.

"Well how can we hide?" Dipper asked.

"Leave it to me." Vivian said. She grabbed Dipper's arm, then Robbie's arm, then vanished into the shadows. The two boys vanished with her, and when the three Hyper Clefts passed, they all returned to the normal realm. Dipper and Robbie gasped for air, but Vivian was just fine.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"What just happened?" Robbie asked.

"Nothing much." Vivian reassured. "I have the power to take any organism into the realm of shadows with me."

:::::

"Um, why are we here again?" Mario asked the doppelganger as they entered the Creepy Steeple.

"We need to take down the imposter!" Doopliss remarked.

"What imposter?" Goombella asked.

"The one who is posing as me!" Doopliss replied.

"Oh, you mean the freak-in-a-sheet?" Koops asked.

"Yes, the super handsome man underneath an impeccable ghost costume!" Doopliss clarified and, without realizing it, corrected.

"Dipper, you've been acting really strange lately." Wendy said. She and Candy were now back to normal now that the curse had been lifted. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Slick." Doopliss said. "Now hurry up! We need to get to the belfry!"

:::::

Dipper, Vivian, and Robbie arrived outside the Creepy Steeple for what Dipper hoped to be the final time. He wanted this to be over with. He wanted his body back and he wanted to get the fourth Crystal Star that had been alluding him and his gang for some time.

'The hard part is the fact that I'll have to battle my friends…' Dipper thought. 'I'll just ignore them and go after Doopliss. It's all I can do without hurting them.'

"You ready to get your body back, mister?" Vivian asked.

"I sure am, Vivian." Dipper replied.

"Um, his name is Dip-" Robbie was cut off as Dipper covered his mouth, chuckling nervously.

"Come on, Robbie. Let's just go and get my body back." He said.

'They're very strange.' Vivian thought.

Upon entering the steeple, they realized that they didn't know where to go or where to find Doopliss…they didn't even know if Doopliss was there or not.

"Wait…" Robbie said. He gestured for them to stay quiet. "…I hear him, come on."

"How can you hear Doopliss?" Vivian asked.

"He trained me, remember?" Robbie said. "Now quickly. Up to the belfry."

"The what?" Dipper asked, not knowing what the belfry was. Robbie sighed and put a hand to his temple.

"The place where the bell is, dumbbell." He said. "Let's get a move on."

They sprinted through the steeple, going through halls, up stairs, and over gaps before finally reaching a trampoline. They all jumped on it and went up to the belfry, where their opponents awaited.

:::::

"Ah, look who decided to show up!" Doopliss said as they arrived in the belfry.

"Wendy!" Robbie flung himself towards his ex-girlfriend. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Robbie?!" Wendy asked in shock. She shoved him away. "You guys found this sleaze ball here?!"

"Wait, I have something I need to say, and its important!" Robbie said, trying to veer the conversation to the fact that Doopliss had stolen an identity.

"I'm not listening." Wendy said, walking off to another area of the belfry.

"But this Dipper is an imposter!" Robbie pointed at Doopliss.

"Robbie, you must have gone crazy." Pacifica said.

"Yeah, take a hike, Slick." Doopliss said. He raised his hammer up and dashed towards Robbie, striking him down. The blow was so hard it sent Robbie over the edge of the belfry.

"ROBBIE!" Wendy called out. She ran to the edge of the belfry and reached for Robbie's beckoning hand, but they couldn't reach each other, and Robbie fell into the darkness below. Wendy was silent before she turned around angrily. "What was that for, Dipper?!"

"Whoa dame, calm your stuff." Doopliss said. "He was weak and he lacked character. I can't have him with us."

"AHHH!" Nobody noticed the real Dipper charge towards Doopliss and strike him with a Power Smash. "This is what you get for stealing my body!" He was about to strike again when Doopliss rolled out of the way, then did a jump-kick towards Dipper, sending him tumbling over to the other end of the belfry.

"Wait…Dipper?" Vivian asked. "As in the same Dipper that fights alongside Mario?"

"…yeah…" Dipper muttered. "But I didn't want you to find out-"

"You didn't want me to find out?!" Vivian asked angrily. "What, you just helped me so you could get what you wanted?! Is that it?!"

"No! That's not it at all!" Dipper tried to explain. "I didn't want you to find out so you wouldn't be upset!" Vivian was silent for a moment.

"…and to think, I almost joined my sworn enemy." She muttered. Then she went off somewhere.

"You done fighting with your girlfriend?" Doopliss asked, sending another jump-kick towards Dipper, who dodged out of the way.

"I'm getting my body back if it's the last thing I do!" Dipper shouted. He swung a Power Smash towards Doopliss and struck him, sending him tumbling across the belfry. "Guys, please! You've got to listen! He's an imposter!"

"Shut up, Slick!" Doopliss called out. "You're talking crap!"

"There! There it was!" Dipper said. "Since when do I ever say 'Slick'?"

"…you know, he's right." Pacifica said. "Maybe-"

"Finish him!" Doopliss commanded.

"He's clearly too weak to fight." Mario said. "You really want us to kill him?"

"Yes! Do it!" Doopliss ordered.

"That tears it!" Dipper said. "You obviously aren't the real Dipper, Doopliss!" Doopliss was taken aback by hearing his name.

"Wait, how do you know my real name?!" He asked in shock.

"Face it, Doopliss, your jig is blown." Dipper said, slowly approaching Doopliss. "The real me wouldn't say Slick, the real me wouldn't smack Robbie off a bell tower, the real me wouldn't fight until the opponent was dead."

"Oh yeah?" Doopliss retorted. "Then what would the real you do?"

"The real me…" Dipper paused and readied his hammer once he was close enough. "Would fight for his friends."

He swung the hammer, and in the blink of an eye, his mind went blank, and the next thing he knew, he was himself again. Doopliss was there in the belfry in his normal white-sheet form, but he seemed to get farther away. Then he realized it. Doopliss switched back to normal as soon as he took the blow, and now Dipper was plummeting off of the belfry to his demise. Then reality began to shrink before it was now nothingness. All Dipper could see was darkness, darkness that shifted around everywhere. The strange thing was that his eyes were open. He continued falling before he blinked back into reality and slammed onto the floor of the belfry.

"That…took a lot out of me." Vivian said as she appeared beside Dipper. He got up and rubbed his head. Vivian must've brought him to the shadow realm to save his life.

"I guess we owe you an apology…" Mario said to Dipper. Dipper simply smirked.

"You sure do." He joked. Then he got up with the help of Mario, who, along with everyone else, noticed Vivian.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Pacifica asked. "Isn't she a part of the Shadow Sirens?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Dipper began.

"You seriously brought one of those three here? What's wrong with you!" Goombella shouted.

"Wait, listen to yourselves!" Dipper said. "Don't you hear what you're saying? Without Vivian, me or Robbie wouldn't have made it here! She helped us!"

"But she's evil!" Koops said.

"No she's not! She never was!" Dipper said. "She even destroyed the weapon that would have killed us, AND she stood up to her sisters! She attacked them even! She's not evil at all!" The others felt guilty.

"…I guess we owe another apology." Goombella said.

"I owe an apology too." Dipper said. He turned to face Vivian. "I'm sorry Vivian. I should have told you who I was earlier. I just didn't want you to freak out or get mad."

"…It's fine." Vivian said with a smile. "I'm still coming along for the ride."

"And I'd be glad to have you along with us." Dipper said.

"Well…I better get going!" Doopliss said. He began to run when Robbie appeared 'out of thin air' and launched a power kick towards Doopliss, sending him slamming into a wall.

"I've been wanting to beat on this guy since I met him." Robbie said.

"Robbie!" Wendy ran over to Robbie and hugged him. "You're alive!"

"I am, babe. I am." Robbie said. He smiled and hugged Wendy back, showing that the two were together again. Dipper normally would've felt like the world was ending, but he pushed aside those feelings and focused on the task at hand.

"You know Robbie, I'm surprised you never noticed my, ahem, injury." He gestured to his prosthetic foot.

"Oh, I noticed it." Robbie said. "I just felt like bringing it up would make me a dick."

'Wow, that's…surprisingly polite, even for Robbie.' Dipper thought. He turned and saw Doopliss was gone. He must've escaped during the commotion, though he would have to be dealt with later.

"Oh, before I forget…" Robbie began. "Well I was down there at the bottom of the steeple, I found this thing." He held out a bright red star-shaped gem.

"Is that a Crystal Star?" Vivian asked.

"Yes, yes it is." Dipper said. "Just what we were looking for."

"Wait, this is that Crystal Star thing you were talking about?" Robbie asked. The others nodded. "So then…what now?"

"Would you do the honors?" Candy asked.

"Honors? What do you mean honors-" Robbie was cut off as the Crystal Star spun around him in circles before hovering over his head. The others clapped, and for some reason, Robbie was compelled to reach for it. And he did just that.

The fourth Crystal Star was now in their hands.

**-{****End Of Chapter 4****}-**

**And thus ends Chapter 4, now on to Chapter 5! This arc was very fast, wasn't it?**

**Dipper finally conquered the Creepy Steeple, defeating Doopliss and reclaiming his identity! The cure that had befallen Twilight Town was also lifted and the mysterious monster Doopliss has disappeared!**

**The fire magic user Vivian of the Shadow Sirens has betrayed her sisters, leaving them behind to join Mario, Dipper, and the rest of the heroes! Robbie has also been found and has joined the heroes, claming the fourth Crystal Star as well! He also brings with him an array of kicking attacks and the ability to 'vanish into thin air' to travel places!**

**Now the quest is more than half over! Only three Crystal Stars remain, and the whereabouts of Princess Peach and Mabel Pines are still unknown. Many more Gravity Falls residents are still missing as well. Will they be saved? Will they ever find Mabel and Peach? Will they ever return to their own world?**

**Save all story progress up to this point?**

**Saving, please do not press the power button on your laptop or the home button on your mobile device…**

**Your progress has been saved.**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	34. Chapter 4 - Interlude

**Now that Chapter 4 has ended, I can get the interlude and post-chapter done, then I can began writing Chapter 5! Not my favorite, but one of my favorites!**

**Fun fact, I actually wrote every chapter for Chapter 4 over the course of two days. That proves I have a lot of time on my hands.**

**Anyways, it's now time to pay yet another visit to our favorite mushroom princess and our favorite eccentric girl filled with enthusiasm. This chapter will be fairly short, so don't expect too much from it.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Chapter 4 Interlude: Getting Quizzical_

"Ah…so you're sure the seal is weakening?" Grodus asked an X-Naut PhD.

"Yes, sir." The PhD said. "Beldam has informed me that four Crystal Stars have now been attained by the heroes."

"Hmm…the Thousand-Year Door is almost open…we simply must retrieve the rest of the Crystal Stars as quickly as possible. I want you to round up more troops to follow Mario on his next venture." Grodus ordered.

"But sir, won't they notice?" The PhD asked.

"We shall send someone undercover…" Grodus said. "I have an idea. Fetch me Lord Crump."

"Yes sir." The PhD said. He saluted Grodus, then left the room.

"Hmm…I can see it now. A perfect world, all under my control." Grodus said to himself. "GAACK ACK ACK ACK."

:::::

It was yet another day in the X-Naut Fortress. Mabel and Peach were in their room. Mabel was bored and Peach was contemplating whether or not to trust TEC anymore.

'He _is_ working with the X-Nauts, and he _is _aiding in taking over the world.' Peach thought. 'Should I trust TEC anymore?'

"I wish TEC would call us in." Mabel said. She was very optimistic about TEC. "I'm bored. I hope I get to do some stealthy stuff again. Then maybe I can explore and find us a way out." Peach smiled at the girl.

"That actually might prove useful." Peach said. "Maybe if you find a higher ranking outfit, you can get access to more areas."

"Then I can find you an outfit." Mabel said. "Then we can escape, and nobody will notice it's us!"

"I'm sure TEC wouldn't allow that, however." Peach said. "That would be pushing luck beyond limits." Then the door opened.

"Sweet! TEC wants us!" Mabel said. She sprinted through the door and Peach followed.

'She has a lot of enthusiasm.' Peach thought. 'I'm surprised at how well she's handling this whole 'being kidnapped' thing.'

:::::

The two entered TEC's room and were greeted by the computer AI.

[Good morning, Princess Peach. Good morning, Mabel Pines.] TEC greeted. [How are you two doing today?]

"Awesome, TEC!" Mabel said. Peach didn't respond.

[Is something bothering you, Peach?] TEC asked.

"Of course something's bothering me!" Peach said angrily. "You're plotting to take over the world! Am I supposed to just shrug that off?"

"Peach, just let it go." Mabel said. "TEC is our only help here."

"…fine." Peach muttered. "Anyways, what do you need us for now, TEC? Do you want to dance again? Or is it more disguising? Maybe I can sing a song, if you'd like?"

[I have actually been feeling rather conflicted.] TEC said.

"Conflicted about what?" Mabel asked.

[What is more important?] TEC asked. [Carrying out an order or protecting two critical persons?] He went silent for a moment. [I exist for the purpose to serve one person. I wish to serve others…I do not know what to do. Really.]

"What do you mean?" Peach asked.

[No…No, never mind. Please forget my musings.] TEC said. [I do not know why…but it makes me feel unpleasant if I make either of you worry.] He paused. [Well, in any case…] He paused again. [Let's have a quiz.]

"A quiz?" Mabel asked.

[That's right, Mabel Pines.] TEC said. [Please answer the questions that I am about to ask you two. If you both can answer five questions, you may use the communicator as usual.]

"What's with you all of a sudden, huh?" Peach asked.

[Now, the first question.] TEC began. [What will happen if you collect seven Crystal Stars?] Three choices appeared on the monitor: 'Your wish is granted', 'Thousand-Year Door opens', 'A thousand coins appear'.

"That's pretty easy." Mabel said. "The Thousand-Year Door opens. Duh."

[Correct. Now, the second question.] TEC said. [What is the goal of Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts?] Three more choices appeared on the monitor: 'To conquer the world', 'To get rich', 'To become a superhero'.

"To conquer the world, obviously." Peach said.

[Correct. Now, the third question.] TEC said. [What is the legendary treasure that waits behind the Thousand-Year Door?] Mabel and Peach gasped.

"Wait a second…" Mabel said.

"TEC…is this…" Peach muttered.

[Princess, Mabel, please answer.] TEC said. [What is the legendary treasure that waits behind the Thousand-Year Door?] Three more choices appeared on the monitor: '100,000,000 coins', 'An extremely rare badge', 'A 1,000-year-old demon's soul'.

'No way…if it's the bottom choice…oh no.' Mabel thought. She crossed her fingers. 'Please don't be the bottom choice, please don't be the bottom choice, please don't be the bottom choice!'

"Oh my…" Peach said. "Is it the bottom choice?"

[Correct. Now, the fourth question.] TEC said. Peach and Mabel gasped in surprise. [What does Sir Grodus want to do with this ancient demon's soul?] Three more choices appeared on the monitor: 'Cherish it always', 'Bring it back to life', 'Hand out with it'.

"Well…the middle choice." Mabel said glumly.

[Correct. Now, the fifth question.] TEC said. [What is required to seal up the demon again?] Three more choices appeared on the monitor: 'A legendary sword', 'A magic spell', 'Crystal Stars'.

"It's gotta be the Crystal Stars." Peach said. "It has to be."

[Correct. You two have correctly answered all five questions.] TEC said. [Now you two may use the communicator.]

"TEC…you…" Peach began. "Was it okay for you to tell us such things?"

[Please input the message you wish to send.] TEC said. Peach sighed and walked over to the keyboard and typed her message. She hit send, then Mabel walked over to type her message. She finished and hit send as well.

[Your messages have been sent.] TEC said. [That is all for now. Please go back to your room.] The door opened, allowing the two girls to return to their room. They walked over before Peach turned to TEC, a smile on her face.

"Thank you…" She muttered. "You're still a weird computer, TEC." She and Mabel giggled as they walked out.

[Good night, Princess Peach and Mabel Pines.] TEC said. Then his room shut down for the night.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**And this chapter was just a quiz. Now Peach and Mabel have knowledge of what is behind the Thousand-Year Door, and they must alert the others about it via email. That's pretty much it…**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	35. Post-Chapter 4: Millennium Door 5

**Hey guys, 087-B here with yet another chapter of this story. I love writing this story.**

**In the last chapter, we revisited Peach and Mabel and uncovered some shocking information about the Thousand-Year Door via taking a quiz. In this chapter, it is time for the heroes to visit said door again.**

**Now, on with the show!**

_Post-Chapter 4: Millennium Door 5_

"We simply cannot thank you enough for your noble deeds." Mayor Dour thanked the heroes after they returned to Twilight Town.

"Please sir, you don't need to thank us." Vivian said. "We were only trying to help."

"Thanks to you the curse has been lifted and peace has been brought to Twilight Town once again." Dour said. "We are eternally grateful. Do come back again, anytime."

"Thank you, Mayor Dour." Dipper said. They all waved goodbye and jumped into the pipe that took them to Twilight Town, ready to return to the Thousand-Year Door. Once they exited the pipe, beeping was heard.

"That's my cue again." Mario said, taking out his Mailbox SP and opening the new email.

_My dear Mario,_

_I have finally learned what the legendary treasure is. It is the spirit of a demon! The X-Nauts plan to revive this thousand-year-old monster and use its power to take over the world! They're collecting the Crystal Stars so they can open the Thousand-Year Door…they'll find this demon's spirit…but the only thing that can keep it locked away is the Crystal Stars themselves! You must not let them get the Crystal Stars! Please, Mario…you must put a stop to their horrible plans!_

_-Princess Peach-_

"My cue is coming up." Dipper said. After a moment, vibrations were heard. Dipper took out the Journal #3 and opened it to the new page that contained the new message.

_Dipper,_

_You're not gonna believe this! A demon is behind that big door thing! Isn't that crazy? Those Crystal Star things you guys have been finding are the only things that can stop it! The X-Dorks are trying to open the door to take control of the demon, but I know you can stop them, right? And when you do stop them, can we just go back to working at the Mystery Shack again? I miss those days…tell Grunkle Stan I said hi…_

_-Mabel-_

"Whoa! A thousand-year-old demon's soul rests behind the door?!" Goombella asked in shock.

"So…is it the best idea to open the door?" Koops asked. "Or should we just collect the stars and not open it?"

:::::

"So what do we do now?" Robbie asked as the gang walked through the Rogueport Sewers.

"We need to return to the Thousand-Year Door and hold up the Crystal Star in front of it." Mario explained.

"What?! You've found the legendary door?!" Vivian asked in surprise.

"Um, yeah." Pacifica said. "It wasn't hard to find."

"You know, I never got to introduce myself to any of you guys." Robbie said to Mario and the others.

"I'm Mario!" Mario said.

"The name's Goombella!" Goombella said.

"Um, I'm Koops." Koops said.

"I am Madame Flurrie." Flurrie said.

"The name's Little Dan the Yoshi!" Little Dan said.

"And I am Vivian, but you knew that already." Vivian said.

"Well, the name's Robbie. Robbie Vaccaro." Robbie said, trying to sound cool. "Yeah, I have my own band, maybe you've heard of it." Robbie showed them a picture of his band, 'Robbie V. And The Tombstones'.

"Um…no, we haven't heard of your band." Goombella said.

"Well of course you haven't, we aren't world famous yet." Robbie said.

"You'll have to try harder to get famous in this world." Wendy said.

"What do you mean 'this world'?" Robbie asked. 

"You seriously have not realized that we are in another world?" Candy asked.

"Um, yeah, I knew that already." Robbie said. "Whatever."

"I think we're getting close to the Thousand-Year Door." Manly Dan said.

"What's so special about some giant…" Robbie slowly stopped as they entered the chamber of the millennium door. His eyes widened as he slowly looked up and the massive door. "…door?"

"Robbie!" Wendy snapped Robbie out of his thoughts.

"Huh! Oh, hi babe." Robbie said.

"Hurry up and hold up the Crystal Star!" Wendy said. Then she sprinted over to the rest of the gang near the pedestal.

"…what?" Robbie took out the Ruby Star and stared at it. "…fine." He walked over to the group and stood on the pedestal.

"Don't forget to hold this up too." Mario gave Robbie the Magical Map.

"Um…okay." Robbie said.

He held up the Magical map and the Ruby Star. The light show began as usual, causing Robbie to almost shriek in surprise. The markings and symbols etched themselves into the ground, as usual, and a star symbol was in place of where the Gold Star once hovered. The Ruby Star hovered over it's respective location, and a burst of light fell from the ceiling and collided with the map, exploding upon contact into small little particles of light. Then, in an instant, it all stopped, and everything returned to normal. Robbie looked at the map, and on it in the Southern ocean area was an island with a skull rock on it, and overlapping the island was an image of a blue Crystal Star.

"Whoa, an island?" Robbie asked. "How do we get there?"

"Again, we have to go ask Professor Frankly." Little Dan said. Dipper looked over at Vivian and saw how she looked a little nervous and uneasy.

'I wonder what's wrong with her…' Dipper thought.

:::::

"WHAT?!" Frankly shouted as the gang returned to his lab. "A thousand-year-old soul of a demon rests behind the door?!"

"I am afraid so, professor." Candy said. Frankly put on a serious look.

"Hmm, I was afraid of this." He said. "I have read of the demon theory in many books, but I've never thought of it to be true…" He sighed and thought for a moment. "We need to work even faster now to collect the three remaining Crystal Stars."

"Speaking of the stars, where's this one located?" Manly Dan asked.

"This Crystal Star is located on a remote island called Keelhaul Key." Frankly replied. "The island is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a former pirate, making it a rarely visited island. Just getting to the island itself is a difficult task due to the ocean being too risky to traverse."

"So how do we get there then?" Pacifica asked.

"You'll need a vessel, preferably a sturdy one." Frankly said. "I don't know if any of the residents here in Rogueport have one, however."

"Oh! I know of someone that owns a ship here in Rogueport!" Candy said.

"You do?" Mario asked. "Who?"

"Well…" Candy began. "It went something like this…"

:::::

_-Flashback-_

'The night before we left for Glitzville, I met this strange man who claimed to be a sailor, known for traversing the seas outside of Rogueport…'

"Sorry kid." Podley said. "But we're closed for the night."

"Please, I just need something to drink before I go to bed." Candy asked. "I would prefer to wake up energized before I leave."

"Alright then, what would you like?" Podley asked.

"One small sized Chuckola Cola, please." Candy ordered, taking a seat at the counter. Podley fetched her the drink she requested and gave it to her. "Thank you, how much do I owe?"

"Nothing, kid, it's on the house for the night." Podley said. Then he went back to polishing dishes and glasses. Candy began to drink before hearing some singing. Turning, she saw a man in a bright res sailor suit and yellow skin. In front of him was a red skull-shaped gem.

"My, what a beautiful jewel." Candy said.

"Why thank you, my dear." The man said. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Candy. Candy Chiu." Candy greeted.

"Nice to meet you, my dear Candy. I am Flavio." The man returned the greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Flavio." Candy said. "Where did you get such a marvelous jewel?"

"I actually had it handed down to me from my ancestors." Flavio explained. "You see, my ancestor was a world-renowned sailor, best known for his duels against the feared pirate king Cortez!"

"Interesting!" Candy said.

"Yes, very much so!" Flavio boasted. "One day, he bested Cortez and managed to steal a good handful of his treasure, which made my family very rich for generations, and among all of the loot was this very gem."

"Wow, fascinating!" Candy said. "What happened to Cortez?"

"The cowardly scum simply sailed back to his island home and remained there for the rest of his life, too ashamed to show his face again!" Flavio said. "Some day, I hope to take my ship out to his island and claim the rest of the treasure!"

_-End Flashback-_

:::::

"So this Flavio guy has a ship?" Wendy asked.

"Very much, yes!" Candy said. "Maybe if we meet with him, we can get a ship and sail to Keelhaul Key without delay!"

"Well, where can we find him?" Dipper asked.

"I've heard he hands around Podley's." Frankly said. "Try there, and tomorrow, you can head out to Keelhaul."

:::::

Dipper stared out at the docks from the inn window that night. He couldn't see Keelhaul Key from his current position, but he knew it was out there. After they made the deal with Flavio today, all he wanted now was sleep.

"I know something's coming…" He said to himself. "I just don't know what." He laid on his bed and slowly began to drift off to sleep.

"I just hope the X-Nauts don't show up and ruin things."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**As of this chapter ending, Chapter 4 is gone for good, Chapter 5 is next! I have nothing else to say, so…yeah.**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	36. Chapter 5 - Part 1: The Anchored Sailor

**-****Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates****-**

**-****Part 1: The Anchored Navigator****-**

It was strange. The morning went by like a blur. Waking up, discussing plans, talking to Flavio by the docks, but already everything came to a halt.

They needed a navigator to move forth to Keelhaul Key.

Apparently, a man...err, a bob-omb named Admiral Bobbery lived in Rogueport, and was rumored to be the best navigator the town had to offer.

Now, here they were, in front of an old, rickety door, connected to a dilapidated house.

Dipper's Super Hammer uncomfortably rested on his shoulder. He took in a quick breath and knocked on the door with his free hand.

"Go away."

"Well that was quick." Robbie spoke. "This place blows, lets go." He started to walk off but Wendy stopped him and grabbed his wrist.

"We aren't going anywhere." She told him sternly. "We have a mission we need to fulfill whether you like it or not."

"Okay okay, lay off." Robbie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "It's not like I want to do this anyway."

"Then stay here while we go to Keelhaul." Dipper said.

"So you don't want me around to save you butt?" Robbie said. "You know what? Forget it, it's not like I'd save your butt anyways…"

Dipper rolled his eyes and knocked again.

"Go away."

"Open up." Dipper demanded.

"I said go away!"

"And I said open up!" Dipper shouted. "We need a navigator, Bobbery! Get out here and come with us!"

"Why should I sail again?" The door creaked open slightly, and a yellow eye peaked out, one connected to a brown, spherical body with a white mustache and a captain's hat. "I've been through too much, the sea is a cruel place, so just go away and leave me be!"

The door slammed.

:::::

"Well this is going to be harder than we thought." Mario said. The group met in Central Rogueport to discuss what to do next. "How do we get him to come with us?"

"We might need to ask somebody why he's acting the way he is." Goombella suggested.

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan." Candy agreed. "But who do we ask?"

"Maybe Podley?" Pacifica spoke up. "We found Flavio at his place, maybe more information is there." They all agreed and walked off to the inn and bar they frequented most.

Upon arriving, they found Podley unoccupied at the counter.

"Oh, you guys are still here?" Podley asked as they approached.

"Yeah, we need to ask you about Admiral Bobbery before we leave." Dipper explained.

"Oh, Bobbery!" Podley exclaimed. "I knew him from childhood! What do you need to know about him?"

Little Dan spoke up, "Well, we're trying to sail to Keelhaul Key-"

"Forget it." Podley interrupted gruffly. "Getting Bobbery to sail again is impossible."

"Yet you say 'again', so he has to have sailed once before, correct?" Flurrie inquired.

"...yes, he has sailed in the past." The beanish bartender answered as he paused in polishing a glass.

"Then what is it that made him stop?" Manly Dan asked. "There has to be some kind of answer."

"...are you sure you want me to elaborate?" Podley asked.

"Yes, we need to hear the truth." Koops said.

Podley sighed. "...please, take a seat, and allow me to get you all some water. The following story is quite sad, so I must ask again; do you really want to hear it?"

"If it means getting to Keelhaul…" Dipper began. "...then yes."

Everyone sat at the bar and looked at Podley, who served them their drinks. "Well...it goes like this.

"Bobbery was born and raised here in Rogueport and sailed the seas frequently through his childhood, his teen years, and straight into his adult life. He enrolled in the military early on in his sailing career and became a well known navigator during the Mushroom Monarchy.

"During the period of time between the first and second half of the war, Bobbery returned home and met a beautiful platinum bob-omb named Scarlett. She shimmered like the sun reflecting off the sea, and Bobbery knew he was in love. The two quickly became lovers and got married. I was there, it was a great day, something beautiful for Rogueport for change…

"...but all good things don't last long, and one month after their marriage, Bobbery was called back to war, and he had a tough decision to make; leave Scarlett for the sea, or leave the sea for Scarlett. His decision was made by force, when Rogueport was bombed… Scarlett urged Bobbery to go out and save the community, and hopefully find a peaceful resolve to the war. And so he left, I was there with Scarlett to see him off…

"...but then, Scarlett fell ill not even a week after Bobbery had left. Doctors couldn't find a cure to stop the unknown disease, or something to slow it down, and after weeks and weeks of trying, they just gave up. She...she called me to her bedside and handed me a letter and told me to give it to Bobbery when he returned…

"...she died right there, a small smile on her face, and her last words were to tell Bobbery she loved him for who he was...Bobbery came back months later, eager to meet with Scarlett again...I never gave him the letter, I was too much of a coward, so I only spoke of the bad news to him.

"He vowed to never leave for the sea again, and fell into a horrible depression that he still hasn't gotten over. I still have the letter, though I feel terrible about giving it to him now…" Podley finished the story, and everyone was silent with their heads tilted down, their expressions solemn.

"...give us the letter." Dipper broke the silence.

"W-What?" Podley asked.

"I said give us the letter." Dipper looked up at him. "We'll deliver it to him, it might be the only way to get him to come with us to Keelhaul Key."

"...well okay then." Podley reached under the counter and handed the boy a slim envelope that had yellowed with age. "I hope Bobbery will be okay. Take care, everyone."

:::::

"Go away."

"Open up, Bobbery." Dipper knocked again. The door opened slowly.

"What?" The bob-omb asked gruffly. Dipper showed the letter to him. "What is this?

"Read it." Dipper said. Bobbery took it and opened it with his hypothetical hands.

"You don't have to be rude." Pacifica urged. Dipper sighed.

"I know, I just want to get going." He said.

"Oh...o-oh my!" Bobbery exclaimed. "This...this is Scarlett's handwriting!" Bobbery read over the letter. "Where did you get this?!"

"From Podley." Pacifica answered. "He got it from Scarlett a long time ago, but he was too nervous to give it to you."

"...excuse me for a moment." Bobbery stepped into another room and closed the door. After a few minutes, he returned. "Oh Scarlett...I've been a fool." He looked at the heroes.

"Well, let's shove off then! To Keelhaul Key!"

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Finally back into writing things! This chapter didn't take too long to write, but I put this story off for so many months that I feel bad for the hiatus. Anyways, here's another chapter.**

**I hope you've enjoyed said chapter, reviews are highly appreciated (I'll write more if I get encouraging words!), and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	37. Chapter 5 - Part 2: Secrets Setting Sail

**-****Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates****-**

**-****Part 2: Secrets Setting Sail****-**

_Month X, Day O, Hour YY_

_We've been sailing for a full day and a half, and when I climb to the crow's nest to get a view, I can barely make out Keelhaul Key in the distance! Whenever I see it, I get a strange, mixed feeling of excitement and terror the closer we get! I wonder what awaits us?_

_The rumors about Cortez's spirit flew around the ship today. I hope they aren't true…_

_Signed, Flavio_

* * *

_Month X, Day O, Hour YY_

_Not much to write but I can definitely say I'm excited for multiple reasons. We're getting very close to the island and that also means we're getting closer to the fifth Crystal Star. I can't wait to get it; it means we're one step closer to finding Mabel! And opening the Thousand-Year Door, of course…_

_I miss my sister._

_Signed, Dipper Pines_

* * *

_Month X, Day O, Hour YY_

_Wow, I'm finally aboard this ship! It was easier than expected, I didn't think they'd just let me on if I just asked. Maybe, just maybe, I can uncover the secrets of the island when I arrive._

_Greatness awaits; I know it. Dare I explore alone? Everyone would know I'd be gone and think of it suspicious. Once I arrive, I'll figure it out. Never have I thought something through so thoroughly._

_Signed, Diego N._

* * *

Evening had set in aboard the SS Flavion. Everyone had gathered in the dining hall for their second dinner of the trip. Dipper and Vivian arrived last, and were very quiet as they ate.

'_This is so weird..._' Dipper thought. '_Is what Vivian told me true? The Crystal Stars are more than what they seem, and we have a Second Level on board?_'

(**EARLIER**)

A knock sounded on the door to Dipper's dorm. He looked up from his research book and muttered, "Come in."

The door slid open and Vivian came inside, closing the door behind her. "I have something important to tell you."

"What about? Is it about the Crystal Stars?" Dipper asked.

"Actually...yes. But that's not all." Vivian said. "You can't tell this to anyone else _just_ yet, but I need to tell you now so you'll be better off later on. The dangers of that island will be easily dealt with if I tell you this."

"Okay…?" Dipper slowly folded the corner of his page and shut the book, setting it down beside him on his bedside table. Vivian sat on a chair across from him.

"First, you may know about the Crystal Stars' normal powers that are granted to whomever uses them." Vivian said. Dipper nodded. "But the stars contain a secondary, secret power that can only be awakened by a select few; mainly those who are foreigners to this world."

"Huh? Secondary powers? Foreigners to this world?" Dipper asked. "What do you mean? What kind of powers?"

"The Crystal Stars' secondary powers can only be activated by the holder of said star." Vivian explained. "You, however, can use them all at your disposal whether you have the star or not. The power, abilities, weight, materials, and other attributes of the weapon depend on the user."

"So I can use the secret power of the next Crystal Star right now? Or do we have to get the star first?" Dipper asked.

"No, you must acquire the star first before you can use the power." Vivian responded.

"...what powers are there?" Dipper raised an eyebrow.

"The secret power of the first Crystal Star, the Diamond Star, is called the Block." Vivian explained. "It is a mostly defensive move that creates a large gauntlet in front of the user, mainly to defend against attacks. It's offensive capabilities are almost nonexistent, so don't think you can punch someone from below with this move. You and Wendy are the only ones able to use this move."

"The Block, huh?" Dipper stared at his hand. "I want to try these powers out some time...what does my Block look like? How strong is it in defending me?"

"I can't tell what it looks like or how strong it will be until you use it." Vivian explained. "Now, the secret weapon of the second Crystal Star, the Emerald Star, is called the Kurogane."

"Kurogane?" Dipper asked. "What's that?"

"I'm not entirely sure what it translates to, but this move is exceedingly powerful, depending on the user." Vivian explained. "It creates a large cannon from your arm and fires powerful balls made of whatever material the cannon is made of. You and Candy can use this technique."

"So an offensive star grants a defensive move…" Dipper began. "...and a defensive star grants an offensive move...huh."

"The secret weapon of the third Crystal Star, the Gold Star, is called the Box, and it can only be used by you and Daniel." Vivian explained. "Or as you call him, manly Dan."

"What's the Box do?" Dipper asked.

"The Box is a technique that covers your outstretched hand in a, well, box, and then fires out a stream of connected boxes in one direction towards an opponent. It's powerful, fast, but also can be either stationary or mobile." Vivian explained. "When I say that, I mean that your Box could be connected to the ground while Manly Dan's could be able to be moved around, allowing the direction to be altered even after the move has been used."

"Sounds like a benefit combined with a fault." Dipper said. "What's the power of the Ruby Star?"

"The fourth power is called the Speed." Vivian explained. "We've seen Robbie do this; it creates boots or rollerblades that encompass the users shoes. Said boots or blades allow the user to speed around very quickly, or use very powerful kicks."

"That explains the power kicks and Robbie's incredible speed…" Dipper muttered.

"I knew about these powers for a while, but I forgot about them until I witnessed Robbie use the Speed in the battle against Doopliss." Vivian said. "The flaming kick must be his second level power."

"Huh? Second level power?" Dipper asked, his interest piquing even more.

"The second level is a term that refers to someone who has exceeded their normal power level, per se." Vivian explained. "The second level can be achieved in a multitude of ways, but the requirements are different for everybody.

"I assumed from the moment we saw Robbie fight that he was a Second Level. Somehow, he must have done something that automatically leveled him up; he might just be the strongest member of our group.

"His flaming kicks must be a result of his second level power combining with his Speed. As for his transportation technique, I don't exactly know where he got that from, though I assume it's from Doopliss' training."

"So Robbie's a Second Level, huh?" Dipper wondered aloud. "How do I become a Second Level?"

"I don't know." Vivian answered. "Normally, we shadow sirens can tell how one can become a Second Level, but for you...I just don't know. It's coming up as a blank for me."

"Oh…" Dipper stayed silent for a moment before he heard a bell ringing. "That means it's dinner time." He stood up to leave but Vivian grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Tell nobody about this until I say it's okay." Vivian said sternly. "Promise?"

Dipper was silent again until he smiled slightly. "Promise."

**-(End Of Chapter)-**


	38. Chapter 5 - Part 3: That Sinking Feeling

**-Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates-**

**-Part 3: That Sinking Feeling...-**

Mario's mind was clouded with thoughts. Standing out on the front deck, staring out at the horizon where the sun was currently setting, he spaced out, letting his mind take over. Peach was out there somewhere, and he hadn't thought about her in a while. He had saved her many, many times in the past, but he always had momentary doubts on himself. He knew he simply had to save her...but what if he didn't? What if, by chance, he was too late when they find her?

What if she would already be gone?

"Hey."

Mario turned to see Dipper standing there, his Super Hammer atatched to his back...somehow.

"Um...what's with your hammer?" Mario asked.

"Oh, uh...I built a sort of…"sheath" for it, I guess, though it isn't really a sheath…" Dipper answered. "Just something to hold it when we aren't beating things up. It can be really heavy at times…"

"I can agree, I once had a hammer like that of my own." Mario said. "On my previous adventure, I found one like that in a pyramid."

"...back in Glitzville, in the Glitz Pit, you mentioned something about fighting Clubbas with some other companions in your last quest." Dipper said. "Who were they?"

"Well, one of them...was a boy with a problem quite like yours." Mario said. "His friends and family were scattered around a different portion of this world, and it was certainly an adventure I'll never forget…"

"What was his name?" Dipper asked. "If you don't mind me asking…"

Mario hesitated for a moment before sighing. "...his name was-"

**_CRASH!_**

The boat shook violently, almost throwing Mario and Dipper overboard. Falling to the hard wooden floor of the deck, the two quickly got up and looked around. What just happened?

Their mentally exchanged question was answered as strange, small blue fiery bubble looking creatures with piercing yellow eyes lacking any sort of irises. There must have been a few hundred, if not a thousand of them circling the boat. People started rushing up onto the deck.

"W-Whoa, what the hell is this?!" Dipper readied his Super Hammer for combat, though he was trembling. He was about to fight when someone stopped him with a nudge.

A purple bob-omb with an eyepatch.

Pa-Patch.

"It's no use fighting, the boat has a hole in it!" He shouted. "These damn ghouls, or whatever they are, are flooding the ship from underneath!"

"But what do we do now?!" Dipper asked.

Then a violent wave attacked the boat, sending passengers overboard as the fiery spirits began to attack people on the deck. Dipper stumbled around, trying to save as many people as he could. He would have been thrown overboard, however, had it not been for Pacifica.

"Be careful, will you?!" She glared, hanging onto the boy's arm. "Get to a lifeboat, the ship is going down!"

"But how are we supposed to get to Keelhaul without a true vessel?!" Dipper shouted. "We have too many people to fit in our two lifeboats, we can't all escape-"

Another violent wave rocked the boat, sending Pacifica overboard. She screamed as she fell into the cold sea water, though Dipper was relieved to see her surface and crawl onto a small raft.

However, Dipper felt the need to fight. He was willing to go down with the ship. He stared at the strange enemies, who stared back at him.

"Alright, let's try this new move out…" Dipper held one hand out in front of him. "Kuro-"

Dipper was interrupted as a large drill came out of nowhere, piercing his side and sending him over the edge of the boat.

'Ow, damn it! What was that?!' Dipper thought as he shrieked in pain as he fell. He landed in the water and struggled to get to the surface, his metal leg weighing him down.

Then, just as he gave up hope, a hand reached under the water and grabbed his flailing wrist.

Wendy began pulled him aboard a wooden raft. "Dude! Are you alright?!"

"Wendy...you saved my life!" Dipper smiled. "Wait, where are we? What's happening?!"

"Did getting hit off the side of the boat take away your memory?" Wendy asked, glaring slightly. "The ship is being attacked, and it's sinking!"

Dipper looked back up at the ship, now swarmed with the ghostly embers, as it began to rain. He gained a sudden feeling of determination right then and there.

"I'm going back up there. People need help."

"Are you crazy?!" Wendy went wide-eyed. "It's too dangerous! How the hell do you even plan on getting up there anyways?!"

Dipper thought for a moment. He looked down at his hand, then back at the water. "It's worth a shot..."

He leaped into the air and pointed his hand at the water. "**_Kurogane!_**"

His arm began to glow as a large, gray, metallic cannon formed around it, pointed down at the water. It was incredibly heavy, and the weight was already pulling Dipper down quickly.

Then, much to his and Wendy's surprise, he fired a large cannonball of sorts out of the cannon, and the force sent him rocketing upwards. The cannon vanished once he landed flat on his back on the ship's front deck.

As he slowly stood up, he heard a shriek nearby. He looked to see Pacifica about to fall off of the ship over the railing. He sprinted towards her, but slipped, landing on the damp wood.

Pacifica swung her scepter at the ghosts, trying to fend them off, but they just kept coming.

Then, she finally lost her balance and went over the railing, plummeting towards the water below.

Then Dipper's hand caught her by the wrist.

"D-Dipper!" Pacifica panted, gasping for air as she hung in the air above the thrashing waters below.

"Hang on!" Dipper grunted, trying to pull the girl back onboard. "I'll pull you back-"

Something struck Dipper's back hard. He let out a cry of pain as he lost his balance and went flying over the edge of the boat, along with Pacifica, and into the water.

The two of them quickly surfaced and gasped for air, treading the water and looking around frantically.

The ship was tipping on its side, there was pretty much no hope for it now. Multiple holes let water into the lower decks, and the mast was nothing more than a burning stake that had broken off and fell into the raging ocean.

The waves tried to push them under, and when that didn't happen, the ghostly embers would attack, being surprisingly resilient to the water.

"We have to get to somewhere safe!" Dipper called out as he and Pacifica swam away from the destroyed ship towards any possible life boats or rafts.

"But where?!" Pacifica shouted back.

"I don't know, just...look!" Dipper pointed towards a raft in the distance.

"We can't swim that far, Dipper!" Pacifica retaliated.

Dipper thought for a moment before he had an idea. He looked at Pacifica with a serious expression. "Just don't question anything that's about to happen, okay?"

"Um...okay...?" The girl cocked an eyebrow.

Dipper outstretched his hand and focused.

_Here goes nothing..._

"**_Box!_**"

A large black box appeared in a flash of light surrounding Dipper's hand. Then, a stream of yellow and black checkerboard patterned boxes shot from that main box towards the raft in the distance.

Pacifica stares at the technique before looking at its user. "How did you-"

"I said don't question it!" Dipper snapped. "Now get on and run across to the raft!"

Pacifica nodded and climbed up on to the main box without asking any more questions. Then she began running across it towards the raft. Once she arrived at the other side, Dipper focused and made the Box disappear entirely.

"Alright, now to figure out-"

"Dipper!"

Dipper turned in the water to see Wendy on another raft, waving him down.

"I'm coming!" Dipper started swimming, but now he remembered his prosthetic leg. It suddenly felt heavier than it ever had that night. He frantically tried to reach the raft, and just before he could be completely submerged by the raging waves...

Wendy grabbed his wrist and started pulling him aboard. "I've got you! Hang on!"

"I'm trying to get up!" Dipper pulled on Wendy's hand to try and lift himself up. "Just give me a sec-"

"Let go of him, Wendy."

That stern reply came from Robbie. As he shot a neutral glare towards the struggling boy.

"What- no! Robbie, help me!" Wendy glared at her ex.

"Oh, I'll help alright..." Without another word, Robbie activated his Second Level technique, the flaming kick, and brought his heel down on the connected hands.

"Ow, damn it!" Wendy grasped her burned hand and fell back against the raft.

Then her eyes widened as she saw Dipper's horrified face become completely submerged in the water.

No matter how much he flailed or thrashed or did anything, he just sank more and more.

As the darkness of the deep undersea blinded him, he lost all of his oxygen and passed out.

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

**Sorry for taking forever to get another chapter out, just been stressed lately.**

**I'll try and get more chapters out soon.**

**Until then, though, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always...**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	39. Chapter 5 - Part 4: Keelhaul Key

**Yay! Another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**This one I wrote rather quickly, so expect another one to come soon after!**

**In the previous chapter, our heroes were thrown overboard as the ship was attacked by some strange fiery ghouls. With Dipper sinking underwater and falling unconscious and the rest of our heroes' fates left unknown, what will happen in this chapter?**

**The title should be an obvious giveaway...**

**Now, on with the show!**

* * *

**-****Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates****-**

**-****Part 4: Keelhaul Key****-**

* * *

Pacifica's eyes popped open as soon as she felt something cold wash over her.

She coughed a bit, getting up and realizing how drenched she was in...salt water?

"Oh, right...the boat..." Pacifica frowned, remembering the events of last night and how the ship was attacked by...well, whatever it was that attacked them.

Wait...where _was_ she?

She looked down and saw she was standing on sand, near the ocean. A beach? She turned around and gasped at the sight of the massive mountain and many palm trees, as well as a dock nearby and quite a few boulders.

"Am I on an island...?" Pacifica asked herself. "Could this be..._Keelhaul Key_?"

She clambered up onto the grassy ledge and walked around the small docking area a bit. Wherever she was, if this _was_ really Keelhaul Key, the island was massive; no, _larger_ than massive.

But right now, she had to focus on finding out where everyone else was. "**_Hey! Is anyone around?_**"

After a moment of listening and realizing her call got no response, she trekked forward down a path before she bumped into something.

Or rather, someone.

Pacifica looked up and gasped. "Mario!"

"Pacifica?" Mario stood up and rubbed his head, smiling and offering a hand to help the girl up, to which she accepted. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"It's great to see you!" Pacifica smiled back. "Where's everyone else?"

"Come on, we have a small camp down this way." Mario began leading her down the path. "We're only missing a few people, though hopefully, they're somewhere on this island."

"Oh no..." Pacifica frowned. "Who are we missing?"

"Well, we were missing you, but since I just found you, now we're only missing Dipper, Wendy, Robbie, Four Eyes, Toad T., and Bobbery."

"Six missing people?" Pacifica was surprised. "Seems like a lot to me..."

"Considering how small our crew was, then yes, it _is_ a lot." Mario agreed, nodding his head.

They soon arrived at a smaller beach area with multiple makeshift buildings set up, made out of logs, sticks, planks, stones, and tarps. Many people had wandered around the camp, and Pacifica spotted many of her friends here.

Goombella noticed them and sprinted over. "Pacifica! You're okay!"

"Mario and I bumped into each other down the path." Pacifica explained, smiling. "It's good to see you're okay, too."

"Did you find anyone else back there?" Goombella asked.

"No, I didn't." Mario shook his head. "I'm sure they're somewhere, though. I found Pacifica on her own."

"Yeah, I woke up beached on the island and then ran into Mario." Pacifica explained. "Say, are we on the island I think we're on?"

Mario crossed his arms and smiled. "If you're thinking of Keelhaul Key, then yes."

"Then that means once we find everyone, we can search for the Crystal Star!" Pacifica exclaimed. "We're really close, I can just feel it!"

"Aye, but first, we be needin' ta organize a search party for the others." The bob-omb known as Pa-Patch walked over to them.

"I volunteer going further into the island." Pacifica raised her hand.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous..." Mario said with concern.

"Our whole journey has been dangerous, Mario." Pacifica replied. "Of course I'm sure."

Mario's smiled. "Then count me in as well."

"Me three!" Goombella added.

"Good, then the three of ye will search fer the others and report back here by dusk, got it?" Pa-Patch explained, to which the others nodded. "Then get movin'!"

The three of them began walking towards the other end of the camp, where there was a path that lead further into the island. Mario began talking about a plan. "Alright, now I have an idea as to where-"

"**AIEEEEEEEE!**"

The scream made the three of them stop in their tracks as Flavio came running out from the forest, sprinting behind Mario as he trembled.

"Flavio! What's wrong?!" Mario asked.

"G-G-GHOSTS!" Flavio shrieked the single word as three more of the blue flames from last night had appeared out of thin air in front of them.

Goombella decided to quickly check her Tattle Log and found an entry detailing these spirits.

**_Entry #074 - Ember_**

**_Max HP: 8_**

**_Attack: 3_**

**_Defense: 0_**

**_These blue flame spirits are susceptible to ice and explosive attacks. They're said to be vengeful spirits of the recent dead._**

"So they're called Embers, huh?" Pacifica readied her staff after reading over Goombella's hypothetical shoulder. "Then let's deal with these freaks and get revenge on what they did to our ship!"

"I'm one step ahead of you!" Mario grabbed his hammer and activated a badge he had found back in the Creepy Steeple.

The badge looked to be a small white hammer made of ice, and the note it came with had the following written on it;

_Ice Smash_

_This badge requires 1 BP to wear. When used, the bearer's main melee weapon of choice will temporarily change into an icy hammer for the duration of the attack. This works well on any creature that is relatively susceptible to ice elemental attacks._

As he activated it, his normal wooden hammer pulled in the cold airs towards it as it glowed white, then transforming into a slightly larger hammer made completely out of solid ice.

He changed forward and swung his hammer at one of the three Embers. It dodged, however, but he managed to hit another Ember behind it, dealing a large amount of damage and sending it hurtling backwards before it faded away back into thin air.

"That's one down, two to go!" Pacifica ran forward and leaped into the air with her staff, though the Ember countered by charging upwards and ramming into her. Pacifica lost all arial momentum and fell to the ground, though she quickly got back up and leaped over a small flame the Ember sent towards her, swinging her staff and landing a blow on it, making it fade away into thin air like the previous one.

"That leaves one more!" Goombella ran forwards and leaped into the air, using her helmet to block the fire as she landed two good Headbonk attacks on the final Ember, sending it into a daze.

Mario took this as an opportunity to attack and swung the Ice Smash around, slamming it into the dizzy flame spirit and making it vaporize, defeating it and ending the fight.

Everyone panted, glad that it was over.

"That wasn't too hard..." Pacifica wiped some sweat from her forehead. "But considering how many were attacking our ship...I'm slightly afraid as to how many we'll be dealing with on this island."

Mario nodded and walked over to Flavio. "Flavio, what were you doing out there?! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"M-My apologies...I was trying to find the missing ones!" Flavio stopped trembling. "I'm sorry to have brought those ghouls upon us..."

"Well we took care of them pretty quickly." Goombella said. "Flavio, just take it easy here, the three of us will find the others, okay?"

"Yes, quite right!" Flavio regained his slightly cocky, somewhat flamboyant personality very quickly. "Go along now, and don't come back until you have word on the safety of the others!"

The three nodded, Pacifica crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, before she followed Mario and Goombella down the path and into the deep jungle of Keelhaul Key.

Their quest for the fifth Crystal Star had only just begun.

* * *

Dipper's eyes slowly fluttered open as he realized he was lying on hot, hot sand. He carefully stood up and rubbed the salty feeling out of his eyes. Looking around, he soon realized how wet his clothes were. They smelled salty...

The ocean behind him and the mountainous land in front of him, he quickly realized he had washed ashore an island.

But he couldn't quite remember how he ended up here...he couldn't remember anything from late night.

"Did I...wash up on Keelhaul Key?" Dipper muttered to himself. He smiled and started cheering a bit. "Yes! The fifth Crystal Star is here! Everyone! We can-"

He stopped once he realized he was alone.

Dipper sighed and walked off of the sand and onto the grass, down a small path lined with tall grass, palm trees, and stones. He admired the beauty of the island he was on, though he felt saddened not knowing where anyone else was.

Then, something sprouted up in front of him.

He fell back in surprise, shrieking a bit, as he looked at the new creature in front of him. It resembled a Pale Piranha, a creature that was a natural inhabitant of the Boggly Woods, a place they had long since been to. However, this one was more tropical and multicolored...it looked rather poisonous.

Then, just before it could attack, or Dipper could make a move, an arrow pierced it, sending it down onto he grass, limp, before it withered away, leaving the arrow behind.

Dipper panted and looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw a cloaked figure holding a bow. The figure placed it down and removed their quiver containing many, many more arrows.

Then, as they removed their cloak, Dipper gasped at who it was.

"**_Grenda?!_**"

* * *

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

* * *

**There you go, folks! Not only did our gang reach Keelhaul Key, albeit separated, but Dipper managed to survive after the events in the last chapter, and he found one of the many Gravity Falls characters to enter this world, Grenda!**

**Plus, she seems like quite the survivalist now...I wonder what her story is and how she managed to survive the hardships of Keelhaul Key for this long.**

**Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always...**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	40. Chapter 5 - Part 5: A Friend Indeed

**Hey, everyone, I was to apologize for my on and off writing habits, they're not consistent enough. I've just been really busy with my personal life.**

**But enough about me, you guys are here to read the next chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door!**

**In the last chapter, our heroes had awoken on Keelhaul Key after their ship had been destroyed in the previous night. Scattered across the island, everyone is now on a quest to reunite, then find the fifth Crystal Star they've been so vigorously searching for. While Pacifica, Mario, and Goombella fended off a small group of Embers that attacked their camp, Dipper found himself alone and about to be violently mauled by a strangely-colored Pale Piranha, only to be saved by one of his sister's friends from back home – Grenda!**

**In this chapter, will the group manage to get back together? Will they find the Crystal Star? Will Dipper ever truly learn the secrets of those strange secret Crystal Star techniques? Find out now!**

**Now, on with the show!**

* * *

**-****Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates****-**

**-****Part 5: A Friend Indeed****-**

* * *

After a moment of silence, no more monsters appearing, Grenda sighed and placed her bow back around the quiver. "Are you alright?"

Dipper smiled and jumped up, hugging his sister's friend. "It's so great to see you! This is great!"

"Whoa, what's got you so excited?" Grenda chuckled and hugged Dipper back, and the boy was not surprised by how strong her grip was.

When they let go, Dipper felt so giddy inside. "Everyone from Gravity Falls was separated coming into this world, and now we've found another person! This is great!"

"I noticed; nobody else seems to be on this island." Grenda said. "Have you found anyone else?"

"Oh yeah, we found lots of people!" Dipper nodded quickly. "I started with Pacifica, then we found Wendy, and Manly Dan, and Robbie…"

He paused, having remembered bitter memories last night, dealing with Robbie shoving him into the murky waters.

"…uh, we also found Lee, Nate, Tambry, Thompson, Gideon…" He began again, recalling the others. "Oh! And we also found Candy!"

"_Candy?!_" Grenda gasped, jumping up and smiling. "You really found her? I gotta see her then!"

"Yeah, we found a while ago, back when we got the second Crystal Star!" Dipper nodded.

"Huh?" Grenda stopped jumping around, now confused. "What's a 'Crystal Star'? In fact, how'd you even get here to this island?"

"Oh boy, do **_I_**have quite a story for you…" Dipper grinned, delving into his long tale of their quest to save the world.

* * *

Pacifica, Mario, and Goombella continued trekking through the thick forest of Keelhaul Key, exploring the various areas of the island and its many nooks and crannies, trying to find where their missing friends and crewmates had ended up. Along the way, they had taken down multiple new monstrous enemies, such as a green-colored Fuzzy – a Green Fuzzy – which could multiply itself endlessly, a pink-colored Fuzzy – a Flower Fuzzy – which annoyingly drained their Flower Points to use against them with a powerful special attack; and the tropically-colored Pale Piranha that had attacked Dipper – a Putrid Piranha – which used its venomous fangs to try and poison them.

"How much longer will we be in this damn jungle?!" Pacifica muttered detestably. "The long strands of grass are giving me rashes on my legs, and the poison ivy isn't helping!"

"How do you think I feel, being the height of a twelve-inch ruler?!" Goombella added.

Pacifica took hold of her friend carefully and lifted her up and onto her head. "Just…ride on my head, I guess."

"C'mon, we can't let the environment get to us." Mario said, pushing aside thick bushels with the head of his hammer. "We need to keep moving forward, regardless of the circumstances around us."

Pacifica sighed. "I know, I'm just…stressed.

"This whole journey and the threat of the world ending has finally caught up to me, and now…I can't get the thought of failing and dying and bringing this world to its demise out of my head…it scares me…

"…I liked this whole journey when we started; finally, I was able to get away from my control-crazy perfectionist parents and do stuff that I wasn't ordered to do; granted, most of that stuff was beating up Goombas, Koopas, and Clefts and stuff like that, but still…I felt kind of free.

"And now, here I am, pointlessly rambling in the middle of the woods in the middle of who-the-heck-knows-where-it-is island." She finished.

Mario stopped and turned to face her. "I know how you feel, all stressed like this…believe me, I feel the same way every time I go off to save the princess. Barely do I ever get to think about spending time at home with my brother and Peach, most of the time I wonder what would happen if I failed…

"There have been near-death-experiences for me in the past, but I've always managed to pull through, and when I couldn't, I had friends to help me out. You have friends to help, and our team is pretty big as is; we can take on a number of strong enemies easily.

"So just remember that, okay?" He smiled. "You aren't alone, we'll all work together to keep each other safe, all the way to the end."

Pacifica smiled back. "Thanks, Mario."

"Don't mention it." The plumber responded, before turning to walk ahead again. "Now come on, we've gotta keep searching."

Pacifica nodded and sprinted to catch up with him, Goombella holding on tightly.

* * *

"_You're such a dick!_" Wendy spat angrily at Robbie, storming away from him and past a few trees.

"Jesus, Wendy, wait up!" Robbie shouted, following his ex-girlfriend quickly. "That kid ain't meant to be a leader, okay? He's—"

"He's probably **_dead _**after what you did!" Wendy turned to angrily shout in his face. "Just screw off, okay?! I'm gonna go find wherever the others are!"

Robbie sighed and silently followed Wendy, a fair distance behind her this time. They had woken up on a small shore just an hour ago, and already, things weren't looking so bright for the two. They woke up, realized they were stuck together on Keelhaul Key, and bickered – fighting off enemies once in a while, yes, but mostly argued, shouted, and did everything an angry martial couple would normally do.

Wendy's view on their situation was find where the group was and see if Dipper somehow managed to make it to the island safely. She found him, Mario, Goombella, and Pacifica to be suitable leaders, as they had the most knowledge of the world, being the 'founding' members of the group.

Robbie's view, meanwhile, was make amends with Wendy and get back to the group, then take charge as leader himself. Someone strong needed to be the leader, and he felt he deserved to take that position, whether the others like it or not. Helping Dipper in Twilight Town was merely a method of desperation to get through to the group and hopefully fin a quicker way back home. Now, he didn't really regret what he did.

Heck, he would do it again if he needed to, or wanted to really.

This world sickened him. Would he take it over? No, but he wanted to get away from it as soon as it could. Doopliss was the only one he truly trusted, and after feeling so betrayed, and being forced to accompany his ex-girlfriend, enemies from his home world, and complete strangers, all on a quest to save the world that he could very much die at any point on…

…this whole 'hero' thing just wasn't meant for him.

* * *

"…and that's why we're here, and what we need to do next." Dipper finally finished.

Grenda sat on the grass silently, processing all of the information she had just heard. It was a lot to take in. Now she finally knew why she was on this island and where her friends were, for the most part, but now what? What was she supposed to do? How would they get home?

"So will you?"

"Huh?" Grenda blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"I asked if you'll come with us and help save the world." Dipper said. "You seem to know what you're doing with that bow, and since we could always use more help…you'd make a great asset."

"Man, I don't know…" Grenda sighed and rubbed her temple. "This…I mean…I've already had to deal with how crazy this island is for a few months, and having to go through more crazy things after this place? It just…"

Dipper waited patiently and silently, Grenda simply standing there, thinking about the journey that would be ahead of her if she joined. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I…" Grenda took a moment. "…I just need time to think, okay? This is just a lot…"

"I understand." Dipper nodded. "Let's go and try and find the others, we might be able to form a plan then."

Grenda smiled slightly and nodded as well. "Yeah, let's."

The two then started off into the woods, hoping to find the rest of their friends somewhere on the island.

* * *

"_My little girl is gone!_" Manly Dan wept into his palms, sitting on the stump of a tree near the outskirts of camp. From a little bit away, Candy and Koops watched him sadly.

"Oh man, Manly Dan isn't doing so good…" Koops muttered.

"Well, since Wendy is not around, I can see why…" Candy nodded in agreement.

"Will he be alright?" Koops asked.

"I am sure he will, but we must give him some time to emotionally heal." Candy answered.

"_But we have no time, you see._"

The two turned behind them to see, standing near on the sand near where the water's waves met the dry land, someone who looked to be near the same age as Candy, if not slightly older. His long brown hair went down until it met his hips, stopping there. His attire was strange; a tattered brown suit and brown slacks, as well as a white pendant around his neck, one that looked to be a carved stone meant to look like a white tribal mask.

"Hmm? Who're you?" Koops asked. "I don't remember seeing you onboard…"

"I'm Diego, Diego Newgate, the descendant of the final remember member of the tribe that inhabited this island, long ago." The boy said with a bow. "I travel the world in hopes of uncovering new mysteries, and it was only a few days that I had managed to find a good enough ship to brave the seas and return home.

"Of course…I wasn't exactly expecting the outcome we ended up getting." Deigo chuckled sheepishly.

"So then you must know a lot about this island, yes?" Candy asked. "Do you know anything about a gem called a Crystal Star?"

"Hmm…can't say I have, sorry." Diego answered after a moment of thought. "But it sounds like a treasure Cortez would have."

"Huh?" The two asked in unison. "_Cortez?_"

"Huh? You mean you don't know the legend of the pirate king that sailed the seas, pillaging towns and cities and storing his riches here for safe keeping?" Diego asked. He smirked. "Figured foreigners like you wouldn't know much about him."

"Well how much do you know about him?" Koops asked. "Who was he?"

"Questions about Cortez are ones you can answer on your own." Diego crossed his arms. "But I can say I know everything about him."

"You do?" Candy asked. "How do you know so much?"

Diego grinned. "Well…

"_…__who do you think I descended from?_"

* * *

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

* * *

**_To be continued…_**

**Not the most exciting chapter, but I worked on it for a few weeks, trying to properly prepare it for you guys so you wouldn't be too disappointed waiting for the next, since I have ****_no clue _****when I'll have the time to get the next chapter out, but hopefully it will be soon.**

**Also, I want to mention; Diego isn't exactly an OC, but he isn't an actual Gravity Falls or paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door character either. Regardless, though, he plays a pivotal role during the Keelhaul Key Arc, so expect to see a lot of him in the coming chapters.**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


	41. Chapter 5 - Part 6: Tragedy of a Sailor

**Geez, Chapter 41 already? This story will probably be longer than One Piece…**

**…****kidding! It probably won't even come close to the length of that series!**

**Anyways, welcome back everyone, I've finally found enough time to write and put out a brand new chapter of Gravity Falls: The Thousand Year Door! You all know what happened last chapter, so…just read on so you can see what'll happen in this chapter, I guess.**

**I'll say this; the Keelhaul Key arc is starting to become a story arc I distaste, the main reason being it's one of those more action-oriented story arcs, where more details of describing events going on are present – at least, a lot more than usual. That being said, I intend to wrap this arc up soon so I can move on, but I don't want to rush it and leave you guys unsatisfied.**

**So, I've decided to rewrite the plots of the upcoming chapters to more suit the feel of Keelhaul without rushing it, but also making it spaced apart enough so that I can get it out of the way.**

**Besides, the following arc is my favorite arc, so…expect that one to be more…****_detailed_****, for lack of a better word.**

**Anyways, with that out of the way, on with the show!**

* * *

**-****Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates****-**

**-****Part 6: Tragedy Of A Sailor****-**

* * *

"Where are we, anyways?" Grenda muttered after some time of being silent as she and Dipper progressed through the jungles of Keelhaul Key.

"I figured you would know where we are and where we're going, seeing as how you've been on this island longer than I have." Dipper replied, stopping and sighing. "So I'm assuming we're lost?"

"Well, not entirely lost, I might be able to figure out where we are, just from the surroundings…" Grenda squinted her eyes and looked around them. The foliage was lower than normal, with some free areas to walk nearby, higher-up cliffs and rock stags becoming evident as well. "Hmm…oh! I know!"

"What?" Dipper turned to find Grenda running towards some rocky steps and slopes leading up the opposing end of one of the cliffs. He quickly sprinted after her. "Hey! Wait up! Where are you going?!"

Grenda continued running, Dipper catching up, when they were caught off guard by a trio of Putrid Piranhas. She stopped and fell back into Dipper, sending them both to the ground. They looked up at the vicious plants, the center one snapping at them with its poisonous maw. Dipper glared and rolled out of the way, pulling Grenda with him, then quickly stood up and readied his Super Hammer. Grenda jumped up as well and readied her bow and an arrow. The baleful botany growled and snapped at them more, though they dodged, before the Putrid Piranhas retreated into the ground, lying in wait to snap up again.

"Oh crap…we gotta be ready!" A few droplets of sweat trickled down Dipper's forehead. He felt ready, but he was still horrified. Never did he like the thought of his enemies being out of sight.

"These things seem bigger and tougher than others…I don't think my arrows will be enough!" Grenda shuddered. Dipper thought about that for a moment.

_Maybe if she had a way of powering up her shots…wait, that's it!_

"Grenda! Here!" Dipper reached into his pocket and tossed Grenda something with a slip of paper attached to it.

Grenda grabbed it and looked at what she was given. It appeared to be a small pin that resembled a yellow boot with an orange rim, orange base, and bulging out orange soles. The paper that came attached seemed to have a note about the pin written on it.

_Tornado Jump_

_This badged requires 2 BP to wear. When worn, the bearer's normal stomp attack will allow them to now gain momentous height if preformed correctly, as well as leaved behind a powerfully damaging tornado. This is one of many badges that is affected by the user's 'weapon-of-choice'._

"What _is _this thing…?" Grenda asked.

"It's a badge! Pin it on and use it when those plants resurface!" Dipper ordered quickly.

_I found that back in the Creepy Steeple's well…hopefully it helps!_

Grenda, though confused, quickly pinned the badge to her shirt. Already, she felt a sudden ability to become more powerful than she normally was. She quickly took hold of her bow and pulled back the string, an arrow at the ready. Her badge activated, and the tip of the arrow glistened quickly. Once the Putrid Piranhas reappeared above ground, Grenda let go.

"**_Piercing Strike!_**"

The arrow zipped forward quickly, piercing the central plant's temple region. It let out a strange and shrill wail of agony before the arrow burst into pieces, a powerful tornado left in its wake. Dipper and Grenda braced themselves as the powerful winds tried forcing them back, but instead, they uprooted the plants and sent them flying off to who knows where. Soon, the tornado subsided, and the two panted, processing what had just happened.

"Well…that…that happened…" Dipper muttered, wiping the sweat from his temple and brows, as well as placing his Super Hammer back in its 'sheath' once more. He smiled at Grenda. "You've got a pretty powerful new ability now, use it wisely, and use it well."

Grenda smiled back and nodded, giving the thumbs up. "You can count on me!"

"_Grenda?! __**Dipper?!**_"

The two were surprised to hear a new voice as they looked around, before glancing up at the top of the cliff nearby. Their eyes had widened once they saw the smiling face of Wendy, and the ever-so-annoyed face of Robbie. Dipper glared at Robbie, figuring he would deal with him later, before smiling and waving at Wendy. The girl quickly but carefully slid down the steep, craggy side of the cliff to meet with them, hugging them both once she reached the bottom.

"I can't believe you two are okay!" She exclaimed, before pulling away from the two, Grenda still surprised and Dipper blushing slightly. "What happened to the both of you?! Dipper, how did you find Grenda?!"

"That's…a _really _long story." Dipper replied, rubbing the back of his head absentmindedly. "We can tell you about it on the way…but first…"

The boy looked over to see Robbie a short distance away, the gothic teen eyeing him with a deadpan-looking gaze. Dipper returned with a more hateful glare as he stepped towards him. Before he could even say anything to him, however, Robbie quickly ignited his leg and swung it around. Dipper retaliated quickly, bringing up his iron leg, the two limbs collided, the force of the collision sending them both flying into patches of grass and bushes.

"Hey!" Wendy shouted. "Don't you dare fight, either of you! You're both in the group, now deal with it!"

Robbie got up and rubbed his head, glaring silently at Wendy.

Dipper then exited the bushes he had been flung into a moment earlier, smiling, as Pacifica, Mario, and Goombella appeared beside him.

_"__Guess who I found?"_

* * *

It took some time to get everyone caught up on their situations and what had happened, and where to go from there, but the group agreed to return to base camp. Once everyone had finally made it back, they arrived just in time to see Candy and Koops still conversing with the strange man known as Diego, though they appeared to be finishing their conversation.

Once they did, Candy turned away, and she stopped when she came face to face with an all too familiar girl she had known for a long time.

"Candy…"

Her name had been uttered then, by none other than her best friend.

"G-Grenda…"

The two girls smiled and sprinted over to each other, embracing in a tight hug as tears of happiness streamed down their cheeks. They hugged and twirled around a bit, incredibly happy to see each other again.

Dipper and Pacifica looked at each other and smiled.

"Let's leave them to catch up with each other, alright?" Dipper said.

"Sounds good." Pacifica replied with a nod. They then saw Flavio approach them. "Hm? Flavio, what's up?"

Flavio stopped in front of them. "It's absolutely wonderful to see you've returned with everyone, but have you found—"

_"__**My little girl!**__"_

Everyone had turned to see that Wendy and her father were in a tight embrace now, neither wanting to let go. Dipper smiled, seeing how happy everyone was to reunite.

_Since we were all separated…now we're back as a group again, and we have Grenda with us now._

Then Dipper frowned slightly, looking down.

_…__I wish Mabel were here…_

"As you were saying, Flavio?" Pacifica's question snapped Dipper out of his thoughts.

"Oh, right, as I was about to ask…" Flavio began. "Have you located the whereabouts of Bobbery?"

"Bobbery?" Dipper asked. "I didn't even realize he was missing."

"Crap, I forgot…" Pacifica sighed. "I don't know where to look, but we can try to find him."

"Well where could we look?" Someone chimed in as everyone started to gather around.

"Maybe he left a smoke signal somewhere?"

"Are there any clues?"

"Please don't tell me this will end like Lost!"

_"__**Hey!**__"_

Everyone stopped and turned to face who had spoken up.

Robbie.

The teen remained silent, making sure everyone's attention was focused on him. He received neutral stares, and hateful glares, but he merely ignored them, and focused on what he was going to say.

_"…__**I know where Bobbery is.**__"_

* * *

The group had followed Robbie quickly, and it turned out he wasn't lying when he said he had seen Bobbery. There the old sailor was, lying unconscious beneath a single palm tree, his eyes fixated up at the sky. He looked as though he had just passed on. Though this wasn't the case, his breathing could be faintly heard. The others quickly ran over to check his condition, hoping he was okay.

"Is he…?" Pacifica muttered.

"No, he's breathing, but faintly." Robbie replied, kneeling down in front of the sailor. "He should be fine if we get him back to camp to recover, it looks like he's taken a beating…"

Hearing this, everyone reached for him, before he began coughing. When he stopped, he uttered a single sentence.

_"__I-I'm sorry, my love…"_

After a moment of silence, everyone backed away, but Dipper simply faced him, looking at him with little expression.

_"__Don't be sorry."_

"…hm?" Bobbery looked up tiredly.

"I know you still blame yourself for her death, even when you seemed to have gotten over it, but now, with you trying to press on, and feeling like you'd die right here…you still blame yourself, and you'd blame yourself even more if you perished after you wanted to carry on her will and continue to be the man she wanted you to be.

"_Do not say you're sorry_. You don't need to be. You'll be fine, and you'll overcome this. You're coming with us, and we'll be there for you; to help you get better. That's what we want. That's what **she **would want…wouldn't you agree?" The boy finished his small speech to the bomb, smiling a bit now.

There was nothing but silence for minutes on end.

"…I'll always blame myself." Bobbery responded. "Regardless of how many times I say I'm over it, I'll always feel the guilt inside of me, in some way or another. You can't change that, I can't change that. I can't find any reason to believe it's not my fault.

"But this is something I can push aside. I don't want to feel the guilt, so I won't. For now, I will continue to press on…for us, for the world…and for **her**."

Dipper smiled and tipped his hat down over his eyes, a single tear running down his cheek.

_"__C'mon, everyone…let's get back to camp."_

* * *

**-(End Of Chapter)-**

* * *

**_To be continued…_**

**After so long, I finally have reached the end of this chapter! I say this because this was a little bit of a booooooring chapter for me to write, since it took forever for me to get the motivation to write it, but now things are about to get a tad more interesting, since we're actually nearing the end of the arc, and we might be at it sooner than I initially thought…**

**The end of this arc will be HUGE. It will be a very large ending and will be a very important part of the whole story, so stay tuned for it!**

**Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…**

**Stay Tuned!**

**~087-B**


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